The relationship between academic tracking and exclusionary discipline actions has only been studied in a limited number of empirical studies. By placing students at the lower strata, schools deprive them of the educational opportunities, widening the educational opportunity gap in a process we define as "opportunity stratification."…

Today, postsecondary institutions in the US typically wish to enroll entering classes that are both academically qualified and diverse. Although the definition of diversity varies from school to school, the challenge is essentially the same: How can academic objectives be combined with goals that involve the composition of the entering class? Many…

Graduation from high school is a commonly accepted measurement of academic achievement within the PK-12 education system. Failure to meet this academic milestone is well noted to result in unfavorable outcomes in the transition to, and throughout, adulthood; negatively impacting individuals' health and employment opportunities, while increasing…

Pre-college access programs operating in high schools commonly focus on assisting underserved and historically excluded populations of students in preparing for, applying to, and enrolling in postsecondary education. Through two analyses, this study examines the efficacy of two types of access programs in facilitating postsecondary enrollment and…

Less privileged students disproportionately aim low with their university applications and often fail to apply to the institutions that match their academic qualifications. Little attention, however, has been directed toward the converse phenomenon, that of aiming high. These kinds of applications are commonly called 'reaches,' meaning an…

Discipline disproportionality is the overuse of exclusionary discipline, such as suspension and expulsion, on Black students in American schools. This study adds to the literature by examining how parental involvement affects racial disparities in disciplinary outcomes in in-school suspension and by theoretically analyzing how parents' social and…

This research brief is the first in Research & Development's "Career and Technical Education Series." It uses longitudinal data to document how women, racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and those from economically disadvantaged families are represented across the different Career and Technical Education (CTE)…

This study investigates undergraduate STEM persistence through two-factor theory. Using nationally representative data and multinomial regression, we conceptualize known determinants of persistence as hygiene and motivator factors to test the persistence outcomes among college students who majored in STEM: earning a STEM degree, non-STEM degree,…

High educational attainment is associated with beneficial outcomes for both individuals and society; however, Black males are underrepresented among college students. This study drew on a positive youth development (PYD) perspective to investigate the role of academic self-efficacy beliefs (a malleable strength) in predicting academic preparedness…

As workforce participation increasingly requires a college degree, ensuring that more students from traditionally underrepresented populations have the opportunity to enter and complete college is an equity imperative. To that end, high school reforms have promoted "college-going cultures" in low-performing high schools through…

Concerning the underrepresentation of female students in computer science (CS) classes at the K-12 level and math-intensive STEM fields, this study investigated the relationship between female students earning less credits in CS courses during high school and their STEM major choices. Data were drawn from a nationally representative sample of U.S.…

Mathematics is not just memorized facts, but rather it is understanding how to approach and solve problems, and problem-solving requires linguistic proficiency. Too often, English learners' (ELs) relatively low math performance is dismissed due to their supposed "limited" English proficiency. Taking this perspective, a constructivist…