Understanding the relationship between high-risk courses and Fall-to-Fall retention is essential to enhance student persistence and academic achievement in higher education institutions. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between high-risk courses and Fall-to-Fall retention of first-time, full-time students. The course data…

This research is comprised of a three-part examination of equity, access, achievement, and learning in precollege physics. The first study examined teacher-level and school-level predictors of student performance in physics, with a focus on isolated teachers in New York during the 2016-17 academic year. Results indicated 40% of physics teachers…

While achievement gaps have been widely studied, less attention has been given to how these gaps relate to students' patterns of "academic mobility"-- that is, how students' relative academic standing changes from early to later grades. Using rich administrative data from Washington state, we apply an academic mobility framework to…

This study investigated the impact middle school tracking has on outcomes in high school and the factors associated with those outcomes. Utilizing data from a large, diverse school district, this quantitative study investigated the relationships between middle school and high school English course enrollment among 4,503 middle school students. The…

This study explores the extent to which student, family, peer, and school factors predict (a) whether students take "Advanced Placement®" ("AP®") courses, International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, and dual enrollment courses and (b) in models limited to course takers, how many courses they completed. Our findings, based on a…

This study examined how high school course-taking patterns (i.e., career and technical education [CTE] vs. academic vs. no concentration), personal characteristics embedded in a social cognitive theory framework (e.g., self-efficacy, academic expectations), and contextual variables (e.g., parental expectations, socioeconomic status [SES]) interact…

Implicit stereotypes about gender and STEM may unconsciously shape students' academic choices and contribute to gender gaps in major choice, but there is limited economic evidence on this channel. To study this relationship, we administer a gender-science Implicit Association Test (IAT) to a sample of primarily first-semester undergraduates, and…

There is persistent underrepresentation of female and ethnic and racial minority students in computing. While community colleges provide a unique opportunity to increase diversity in computing fields, many students do not persist. This study aims to understand the factors that predict students' momentum--completion of a certificate, degree, or…

Pupils' subject choices at the level of secondary education critically determine the tertiary fields of study that they can pursue. This study used multinomial logistic regression models to investigate the extent to which the final report card grades of ninth-grade students predicted their choices of subject combinations at the senior general…

Student satisfaction is an important factor when analyzing online courses. Research has shown that student interactions in online courses are linked to overall satisfaction and success in their courses. However, student satisfaction in online courses at HBCUs has not been evaluated in great detail in relation to interactions. The researcher in…

The Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles (APCSP) course was introduced in 2016 to address long-standing gender and racial/ethnic disparities in the United States among students taking Advanced Placement Computer Science (APCS) in high school, as well as among those who pursued computing majors in college. Although APCSP has drawn a more…

This brief summarizes findings from a study in which we examined postsecondary college transcript and degree records from hundreds of thousands of transfer-intending community college students in three states. Our aim was to explore and test metrics that could be useful in the formative assessment of efforts to improve STEM transfer outcomes. Our…

To examine the combined effects of maths anxiety (MA), maths self-efficacy (MSE), and maths interest (MI) on STEM career choice, we analysed self-report data from 7908 Twins Early Development Study participants, collected at ages 16 (MSE, MI), 18 (MA) and 21 (STEM career choice). When analysed in the same model, MSE did not independently predict…

Evidence of inefficient course-taking patterns at community colleges has spurred policy conversations about how to ensure effective course sequences. Structural reforms, like guided pathways, seek to reduce major switching as a means to streamline student course taking and eliminate unnecessary credits. By placing students into broad fields of…

Motivation is a key factor in predicting K-12 students' online learning success. Drawing on self-determination theory, this study used a person-centered approach to identify the motivational profiles of students taking online high school language courses, and to examine such profiles' relationships to their learning outcomes, genders and reasons…