Preparing for exams in introductory biology classrooms is a complex metacognitive task. Focusing on lower achieving students (those with entering ACT scores below the median at our institution), we compared the effect of two different assignments distributed ahead of exams by dividing classes in half to receive either terms to define or open-ended…

In a pilot program during the 2016-17 admissions cycle, the University of California, Berkeley invited many applicants for freshman admission to submit letters of recommendation. This proved controversial within the university, with concerns that this change would further disadvantage applicants from disadvantaged groups. To inform this debate, we…

The moderating effects of motivation, social control, and self-regulation in predicting academic achievement were examined in Grades 11-12 for 3,281 seventh through nine graders. Standardized assessments of college readiness and student self-reported measures of psychosocial factors were used in the study. The results showed that females in Grades…

Tutoring centres are common in universities in the United States, but there are few published studies that statistically examine the effects of tutoring on student success. This study utilizes multiple regression analysis to model the effect of tutoring attendance on final course grades in Calculus I. Our model predicted that every three visits to…

College admission typically requires students to present their high school GPA and a standardized score, such as ACT or SAT. High school GPA is usually attributed to students' cumulative effort during their high school career and is often used as a measure of resilience. The ACT score allows students' aptitude to be assessed. Contemporary…

This article reports the findings of the 2011 results of 'very rural' Kentucky high schools on the Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) Survey to determine whether differences existed between high and low performing rural schools across specific survey items. Schools with ACT scores one standard deviation (or more) above their…

This article describes the use of standards to guide the reform of a struggling high school in Grant Michigan. The author describes the challenges and obstacles that the school was facing, and admits that school reform was difficult. Turnaround seemed impossible, but it held the promise of something larger than life: successful students who become…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine and determine what factors contribute to the prevention of first semester freshmen students not succeeding on high stakes tests based on their opinions, and what variables are important to their performance at the university. The Personal Educational Academic Survey (PEAS), a 65 item Likert-type…

Kansas City (Missouri) Public Schools is at a crossroads. The district has struggled for decades with poor academic achievement, dwindling enrollment and budget, and short-term superintendents--27 in the past 40 years. Most recently, after a two-year stint during which he helped the district get its financial house in order, closing nearly half of…

This research study explored the critical nature of the connection between student achievement and superintendent leadership. A great deal of scholarship has addressed either student achievement or leadership and previous evidence has suggested the impact of both parental education and racioethnicity on student achievement, but few studies have…

There is a very large population of students who struggle with the transition from the middle grades to high school, raising concerns that high school failures are partially a function of poor middle grade preparation. As a result, middle grade practitioners are grappling with questions about what skills students need to succeed in high school,…

Using detailed individual-level data from public universities in the state of Ohio, I estimate the effect of various institutional expenditures on the probability of graduating from college. Using a competing risks regression framework, I find differential impacts of expenditure categories across student characteristics. I estimate that student…

One hundred and ninety four new first quarter freshmen at the Ohio State University went on academic probation at the end of their first quarter. A descriptive study of these students was undertaken using 78 variables from the American College Test Student (ACT) Profile. The purpose was to determine if these students could have been identified…

The majority of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students are not attaining the ACT scores they are aiming for, which they need to qualify for scholarships and college acceptance. This report looks at the reasons behind students' low performance and what matters for doing well on this test. CPS students are highly motivated to do well on the ACT, and…

ADMINISTRATORS HAVE ACCEPTED THE REMEDIAL PROGRAM AS A LEGITIMATE FUNCTION OF JUNIOR COLLEGES. IN THE FALL OF 1964, MIRACOSTA COLLEGE IMPLEMENTED A THREE-TRACK PROGRAM CONSISTING OF (1) A REMEDIAL PROGRAM IN WHICH STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE REMEDIAL COURSES AND TO LIMIT COURSE SELECTION, (2) AN "UNREALISTIC TRANSFER" PROGRAM IN WHICH…