The recent decision by the United States Supreme Court to limit affirmative action in college admissions could make it even more challenging for academically talented students of color to gain access to competitive schools. The importance of school counselors in guiding and supporting these students is now more crucial than ever. This qualitative…

The purpose of this study was to determine which factors made the difference in African American/Black male students becoming high academic achievers. The goal was to support those in education, the community, and instructional designers to better understand the levers that matter in supporting African American/Black male students to be successful…

More support and resources must be allocated in education for teaching students who naturally outperform their peers. There is even less support provided for Black students who naturally excel. These students require rigor and intentional lessons to continue challenging themselves and growing as scholars. As an elementary school teacher, I found…

Being the valedictorian is the highest honor bestowed upon a senior. Unfortunately, that was not the case for Jeffrey and Autry, the two high-achieving African American male participants in this critical race qualitative study, who were short-changed of their valedictorian status. Their cases reveal three themes: (1) these Black male students were…

Discussions and practices focused on Black boys' literacy development and equity in U.S. classrooms require serious thought and interrogation if the aim is to move these boys toward advanced levels of reading, writing, intellectual development, and human development. Sorely, Black boys have become subjects of educational, programming, and policy…

The research focused on the experiences of high-achieving African American college students in honors programs at Mid-Atlantic Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), a phenomenological study. There have been few studies on the experience of African American honors students at HBCUs; however, there is more research about this…

Voices from high achieving Black students allow the conversation to move from a deficit way of thinking to an asset-based perspective leading to greater opportunities for academic success. Through the lens of resilience theory and also through examining protective factors, this qualitative study employs an interpretative approach, enabling…

Research regarding Black males in higher education has become an important endeavor for colleges and universities seeking to increase their graduation rates. Much of the previous research and practices have used a deficit-based approach explaining Black males' low levels of academic achievement as primarily the result of them being underprepared.…

"Racial Opportunity Cost" turns critical attention to the specific challenges faced by high-achieving students of color and gives educators a framework for recognizing and addressing these issues. Terah Venzant Chambers roots her discussion in the concept of racial opportunity cost, using a term borrowed from economics to refer to the…

This dissertation investigates the role of ethnic-racial identity in the college choice and first-year experience of Black and Latinx students attending a highly selective, large, public R1 in the Midwest. My research questions are guided by Camille Wilson's (formerly Cooper) Positioned School Choice (2007) and Critical Race Theory through Yosso's…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the social and academic experiences of Black students in AP English classes at a diverse suburban high school. This study aimed to illuminate their experiences, while giving voice to this traditionally marginalized group. Students provided recommendations for increasing academic success and…

This study examined the lived experiences of non-traditional high achieving Black males that graduated from a predominantly White institution. The main research question asked: How do non-traditional Black males become high achieving collegians at a Predominantly White Institutions? The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how high-achieving African American males attending community college describe how social support contributed to their academic experience in the United States. The theoretical foundations included The Self-Efficacy Theory and The Scholar Identity Model. There were three research…

Recent studies have provided insight into the schooling experiences and lives of Black girls. These studies highlight the challenges that Black girls face in the school environment including underachievement, disproportionality in school discipline, deficit ideologies, and educator and counselor bias. The current study centers the voices on high…

Guided by intersectional multimodal literacy frameworks and analytic methods, this qualitative study explored how seven high-achieving Black undergraduate women's photo essays visually and textually represented their persistence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo essays, in this context, are intersectional multimodal compositions that use images…