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…

Background: Given the importance of engineers to a nation's economy and potential innovation, it is imperative to encourage more students to consider engineering as a college major. Previous studies have identified a broad range of high school experiences and demographic factors associated with engineering major choice; however, these factors have…

This longitudinal study evaluated the efficacy of a summer bridge program (SBP) and other support services on college graduation rates at a small liberal arts school in Purchase, NY. Financially disadvantaged students (n = 136) receiving a scholarship and a summer bridge curriculum within the Manhattanville Achievement Program were compared to…

Low-income children, particularly those with special needs, may have limited access to high-quality early care experiences. Childcare subsidies are intended to increase families' access to quality care, but little is known about subsidy use by children with special needs. Using a nationally representative sample of 4,000 young children who…

This study examines the power of cognitive and noncognitive variables to predict students' performance in algebra. We investigated students' prior year's assessment scores and demographic characteristics to predict eighth-grade algebra scores. Using California statewide assessment data, we explored predictive factors in three regression models.…

The purpose of this study was to examine postsecondary admissions outcomes for music and arts students as compared to their non-arts peers using nationally representative data (N = 14,900) from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002. Controlling for certain observable differences between students who do and do not elect arts courses, music…

This correlational, explanatory, longitudinal study sought to determine the combination of community and family-level demographic variables found in the 2010 U.S. Census data that most accurately predicted a New Jersey school district's percentage of students scoring proficient or above on the 2010, 2011, and 2012 NJ ASK 7 in Language Arts and…

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of internship participation on college students, specifically the effect on college GPA. Further, because of the capacity to disaggregate students by race in the sample, this study is significant because it provides much needed empirical evidence surrounding the impact of participation in…

This review examines ethnicity reporting in three autism-related journals ("Autism," "Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities," and "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders") over a 6-year period. A comprehensive multistep search of articles is used to identify ethnicity as a demographic variable in…

Little is known about psychopharmacological treatment among adolescents with educational disabilities. This study (a) describes pharmacotherapy among adolescents who received special education, and (b) examines the relations to adolescents' disability type and sociodemographic characteristics. The sample was 9,230 adolescents who participated in…

Advanced mathematics and science course taking is critical in building the foundation for students to advance through the STEM pathway-from high school to college to career. To invigorate students' persistence in STEM fields, high schools have been introducing applied STEM courses into the curriculum as a way to reinforce concepts learned in…

As state support for higher education has continued its downward slide, several commissions, declarations, and association reports have called on colleges and universities to be more productively engaged with state and regional needs. An underlying subtext of these reports is that the future of state support for higher education hinges on the…

Out-of-school, community demographic and family-level variables have an important influence on student achievement as measured by large-scale standardized tests. Studies described here demonstrated that about half of the test score is accounted for by variables outside the control of teachers and school administrators. The results from these…

This paper examines student and school influences on reaching Year 12, the final year of schooling in Victoria, Australia. It analyses data from the population of students who were in Year 9 in 2008. Male, English-speaking background, government school, and especially Indigenous students were less likely to reach Year 12 than comparison groups.…

The use of standardized test results to drive school administrator evaluations pervades education policymaking in more than 40 states. However, the results of state standardized tests are strongly influenced by non-school factors. The models of best fit (n = 18) from this correlational, explanatory, longitudinal study predicted accurately the…