Academia and education advocates have reported a concern about the elimination of art and music education classes from high school curriculums in the United States. Studies using mean SAT test scores from 1984 and 1994 versions of the SAT test indicated participants who had art and music education classes had higher verbal and mathematical SAT…

The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study is to determine if and to what extent is there a statistically significant difference in math aptitude, as measured by SAT-Math scores, between African American male and female public high school students enrolled in a STEM program versus those enrolled in a non-STEM program in a high school of…

This quantitative study used archived student records to determine which high school and postsecondary factors are the most significant predictors of college retention among 2,175 students enrolled at the University of West Georgia in Fall 2018. A two-tailed t-test was conducted for research questions one and two to analyze the high school GPAs…

This paper examines the long-term impact of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) on postsecondary education outcomes, with a focus on historically underserved students. MERA aimed to improve educational standards and close achievement gaps through the introduction of MCAS,…

During and in the immediate years after the global COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has given school districts across the United States millions of dollars through a series of three final grants called the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) Grant to help improve education, decrease student learning losses suffered…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to investigate the potential effect that blended learning has on student achievement in high school math. The theoretical framework used for this study was constructivism theory. The constructivism theory focuses on the idea that learning is a process where students build new knowledge…

This brief examines which students in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) are more likely to earn the STEM endorsement and whether STEM endorsement completion predicts college enrollment. Analyses show that gender, STEM magnet program enrollment, and cumulative high school grade point average (GPA) predict STEM endorsement completion.…

The SAT has long been used to assess students' readiness for college and to create competitiveness in college admissions. However, it has become a topic of controversy as stakeholders and researchers question its necessity, value, and validity especially where it concerns equitable access to post-secondary opportunities for underrepresented…

Engrossed House Bill 1121, signed into law during the 2021 Legislative session and codified in RCW 28A.230.320, provides the State Board of Education (SBE) the authority to establish an emergency waiver program to allow school districts and local educational agencies (LEAs) to waive certain high school graduation requirements on an individual…

We examine longitudinal data from 120,384 students who took a version of the PSAT/SAT in the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. We investigate score changes over time and show that socioeconomic status (SES) is related to the degree of score improvement. We note that the 9th and 10th grade PSAT are low-stakes tests, while the operational SAT is a…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) plays a vital role in preparing students for the workforce and postsecondary success. This Spotlight explores innovative approaches to CTE, highlighting strategies for expanding access to college-level coursework and real-world learning experiences. From developing effective career pathway models to integrating…

The study identified the cognitive mechanisms that underly individual differences in mathematics and reading. There is little systematic evidence regarding the connections between cognitive capabilities, mathematics and reading among high-school students with typical development. Moreover, the study aimed to examine whether or not gender is…

Utilizing course grade data from 22 four-year higher education institutions, this study highlights the trends in first-year grade point average (FYGPA) between the 2017-2018 and 2021-2022 academic years, the period immediately before and after the pandemic disrupted both K12 and higher education. Results showed that while FYGPAs generally…

Competitive debate programs exist across the globe, and participation in debate has been linked to improved critical thinking skills and academic performance. However, few evaluations have been able to adequately address self-selection into the activity when examining its impact on achievement. This study evaluated the relationship between…

Recently Burkholder "et al." argued that class normalized gains over the entire population of courses is approximated by a Cauchy distribution, not by a normal distribution, and therefore should not be used to compare different classes because means and standard deviations cannot be calculated. They argued that multiple linear regression…