This dissertation consists of three essays at the intersection of higher education and inequality within the field of economics of education. The first essay estimates the effects of adopting an instructional approach blending online and in-person elements called the emporium model in remedial college courses. Under this model, students complete…

Many first-year students interested in healthcare careers do not succeed in Anatomy and Physiology I (A&PI), which they take in their first semester. These first-year students withdraw from the course or the institution, or their final grade may be below the identified threshold for progressing in their programs. A&PI has become a…

This paper details the culmination of a large, multi-year study on the effects of an interactive computer laboratory component in a large liberal arts math course at a state university. After several semesters of piloting these laboratory activities in the course, one of two sections, taught by the same senior instructor, was randomly selected to…

Mass instruction in Sociology at Purdue University combines lectures and small-group discussion. Achievement in the course is evaluated by short essays written after the topic has been discussed in the weekly discussion meetings. This study investigated the relationship of student characteristics to achievement. Students were pretested for…

Introductory Statistics is a required course for most college students in order to graduate. Research has been conducted for determinants of achievement in college mathematics courses; however, there has been little investigation for statistics courses. In this exploratory study, data concerning students' grades received in this course, the…

Academic selectivity plays a dominant role in the public's understanding of what constitutes institutional excellence or quality in undergraduate education. In this study, we analyzed two independent data sets to estimate the net effect of three measures of college selectivity on dimensions of documented good practices in undergraduate education.…

This paper examines Howard University's Center for Academic Reinforcement (CAR), which provides college compensatory education to underprepared students. Research findings from CAR and the academic and non-academic factors related to students' successful completion of the program are discussed. The research findings reported include: (1) the…

Determines the effects of strict and lenient grading practices on the test performance of students with low, moderate and high SAT scores. Concludes that variations in grading scales affects how much students learn. Suggests that the effects of teacher and course evaluations by students be mediated by considering students' performance. (KO)

The potential use of actual performance by high school students in college-level courses as a predictor of college achievement, rather than or in addition to Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, was investigated. At Syracuse University Project Advance over 4,000 students a year in 80 high schools in four states participate in joint high school…

A cut score validity analysis for a pretest writing prompt and the SAT Verbal and Math assessments was performed for academic writing course placement. This study was carried out as part of a broader program of assessment aimed at understanding the impact of the writing course and eventually set the baseline for assessing the impact of 'writing…