With limited budgets and increasing enrollment demands, colleges need fast, free, and practical solutions supporting academic success and retention. The Academic Reality Check (ARC) tool helps to predict traditional freshmen awareness of their own academic expectations in college quickly, supporting the financial investment being made by all…

Globally, statistical analyses have found a range of variables that predict the odds of first-year students failing to progress at their Higher Education Institution (HEI). Some of these studies have included students from a range of disciplines. Yet despite the rise in the number of criminology students in HEIs in the UK, little statistical…

Modeling and predicting student learning in computer-based environments often relies solely on sequences of accuracy data. Previous research suggests that it does not only matter what we learn, but also how we learn. The detection and analysis of learning behavior becomes especially important, when dealing with open-ended exploration environments,…

This paper investigates the degree to which different variables affect the completion of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Data on those variables, such as age, gender, English proficiency, education level, and motivation for course enrollment were first collected through a pre-course survey. Next, course completion records were collected via…

Recent national research on the validity of the SAT shows that students with higher SAT scores are more likely to earn higher grades in college, and that SAT scores add about 15% more predictive power above high school grade point average (HSGPA) to estimate students' college performance (Westrick, Marini, Young, Ng, Shmueli, & Shaw, 2019).…

Despite the overwhelming evidence that higher education data are nested at various levels, single-level techniques such as regression and analysis of variance are commonly used to investigate student outcomes. This is problematic as a mismatch in methodology and research questions can lead to biased parameter estimates. The purpose of this study…

In this dissertation, I use data from Chile to study the determinants of schooling trajectories. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on higher education, Chapter 3 on secondary education, and Chapter 4 on teachers. Chapter 1 explores the role of a socio-emotional ability, self-efficacy, in understanding why students with comparable qualifications transit…

Improving graduation rates is one of the biggest missions in many universities across the country and it is surely the case on the campus of this institution. The work here presents a statistical tool box to use early academic performance as a predictor for graduation with logistic regression and machine learning techniques. The methods described…

Success is a concept that is desired by everyone. In the Turkish education system, Anatolian high schools are considered one of the most prestigious schools which accept students via national central exams. The purpose of this study is to reveal indicators explaining the placement into Anatolian high schools, which is an important sign of success,…

To support efforts to improve students' college readiness and success, leaders at the Palau Ministry of Education and Palau Community College want to understand the experiences and background of Palau High School graduates who are better prepared for Palau Community College. This study identified the Palau High School academic preparation…

Across the Higher Education (HE) sector student feedback is used to feed into university processes and guide decision making. In this study, data gathered allowed the authors to investigate a hitherto neglected, but important, cohort of successful students -- those who succeeded when all the odds were stacked against them. The identified group of…

This study contributes new evidence on the factors associated with undergraduate study abroad participation and post-college civic engagement, with particular attention on the moderating influence of first-generation college student status. Drawing on Education Longitudinal Study 2002-2012 data, this study analyzes how students' ascribed…

Using data from two Toronto student cohorts that entered high school five years apart, this study uses descriptive and multivariate techniques to examine short-term change in the predictors of four possible pathways after high school: confirming a place in university, confirming a place in college, applying but no admittance, or not applying at…

The Palau Ministry of Education and Palau Community College are aligning their education systems to better prepare students for college. Research on the high school academic preparation variables that predict college success is limited for students in Palau. Using data from Palau's Ministry of Education and Palau Community College, this study…

The Palau Ministry of Education and Palau Community College are aligning their education systems to better prepare students for college. Research on the high school academic preparation variables that predict college success is limited for students in Palau. Using data from Palau's Ministry of Education and Palau Community College, this study…