Academic mismatch, the incompatibility between applicants'/students' aptitude and their desired/current academic program, is considered a key predictor of degree attainment. Evaluations of this link tend to be cross-sectional, however, focusing on specific stages of the college pipeline and ignoring mismatch at prior or later stages and their…

To assess the assumption that IQ tests are equally valid within different social class categories, the article critically reviews major arguments offered by those who reject the assumption and presents regression analyses bearing on the construct validity of an IQ measure within different social class categories. (Author/DB)

Assesses the role of extracurricular athletics and other activities participated in by high school and college students. The authors conclude that athletics has little effect on academic achievement but that social participation has a strong and salutary effect on academic performance in school and college for both sexes and tends to mediate the…

Black college students from three socioeconomic levels were compared on the variables of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, attrition after a two year period, grade point averages (GPA) and correlation between the SAT and first semester GPA. The middle socioeconomic group consistently performed most poorly on GPA. (Author/KM)

Discusses a study to determine attitudes among Black and White students in 194 southern high schools regarding desegregation. Data are presented on differences between schools; test-score achievement; and variations in self-esteem among students in predominantly White, Black, and racially mixed schools. Findings are interpreted in light of…

Reports on a study of student characteristics and the school organization to confirm the findings of previous studies on the importance of individual characteristics to track placement. Concludes that systematic differences among schools suggest that track placement is more complex than previous research has shown. (CFR)

Reviews data from the "High School and Beyond" study to examine sibling intellectual symmetry and the degree to which family background affects the siblings' intellectual ability. Finds considerable symmetry in intellectual skills. Discovers little impact on symmetry from gender or birth order. (CFR)

Maintains that intellectual ability has become a more important determinant of occupational success in recent decades, resulting in increased social class differences. Finds that, contrary to the usual view, class differences have become smaller and current social problems cannot be ascribed to low-ability people in the lower classes. (CFR)

Though educationally relevant factors are the most important in explaining college destinations, socioeconomic factors still play a big role. Influence of the ascriptive factors of race, ethnicity, and sex are more mixed in their effect. The academic and socioeconomic "rich" become richer, while the academic and socioeconomic "poor" become poorer.…