The EXCEL Program began as a National Science Foundation-sponsored STEM Talent Expansion Program in 2006 and, because of its significant impact on retention of STEM majors, has since become an institutionalized program at the University of Central Florida. The University of Central Florida EXCEL Program annually recruits approximately 200…

Effective writing skills are important for success in college, work, and for society. Although there is little argument about the importance of communication skills, there is more debate about whether or not students and graduates are actually attaining these skills. An examination of the impact of completing the college composition course on…

In the fall of 2009, the College Board conducted a curriculum survey to gather information on the curricula and institutional practices of high schools and colleges in the United States. The primary objective of the survey was to collect data on the knowledge and skills, or topics, taught in high school classrooms and assess the importance of…

BECAUSE OF DECREASING ENGINEERING ENROLLMENTS AND INCREASING ATTRITION RATES, FACTORS RELATED TO PERSISTENCE OR CHANGE IN MAJOR FIELD BY ACADEMICALLY PROFICIENT STUDENTS WERE STUDIED. THE SAMPLE, COMPOSED OF MALE STUDENTS ENTERING AS FRESHMEN AT THREE MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITIES, WAS SUBSEQUENTLY IDENTIFIED AS PERSISTERS OR NON-PERSISTERS.…

Students (N=22,923) who took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test were classified by the four general undergraduate fields of study and by gender. Analyses were performed of the impact of gender and field of study on GRE scores after controlling for SAT scores. (TJH)

Preliminary findings of the Differential Coursework Patterns (DCP) Project are reported. The Project uses assessment test scores and transcripts from samples of graduating college seniors to determine what coursework patterns were related to gains in the general learned abilities of the students. Random samples of graduating seniors have been…

Selectivity is criticized as an index of college quality. Standardized college entrance examination scores can at best reflect college quality, it is proposed. In addition, using them as a measure of college quality assumes, perhaps erroneously, that the college admits only the highest-scoring applicants. Further reasons are these: (1) SAT scores…

This report was prepared for the specialist who, well acquainted with the concepts and statistics of educational measurement, needs technical information about the Admissions Testing Program of the College Entrance Examination Board. It brings together the findings of a considerable number of studies of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the…

A study was conducted at a women's college to compare contrasting ideas of general education curriculum requirements: the prescribed core curriculum in which all students take the same courses versus the distributive model in which students are required to choose a minimum number of courses within specified academic areas. Graduating seniors were…

Two studies are described which capitalize on the strengths of the instructional development process for research purposes. Typically, developed courses have carefully-designed learning environment specifications, replicable instructional treatments, and well-proven achievement measures. A battery of questionnaires and rating scales concerning…