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 research investigates whether teachers' unions influence student academic achievement in Southern states that prohibit collective bargaining. Our data are from the School and Staffing Survey and the Stanford Education Data Archive. We measure the strength of teachers' unions by union membership rate and meet-and-confer status of a district…

Enrollment in dual credit classes has increased over the last 10 years benefiting K-20 education and high school students in providing an opportunity to obtain college credits and increasing postsecondary education enrollment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictors of achievement through the lens of Social Cognitive Theory by…

In line with increasing attention being paid to the role of positive emotions in second language (L2) proficiency and knowledge, this study set out to examine the relationships between domain-specific emotions (L2 grit, language learning curiosity, foreign language enjoyment, and foreign language classroom anxiety) and L2 vocabulary knowledge. To…

Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 came as a wave of physical closures requiring sudden change in the method of instruction from face-to-face to a completely online. Assessment of student's adaptation to this change during emergency lockdown is the focus of this study. Students' test scores related to perception of…

Retention is a significant challenge at small universities and therefore research in this area is needed. The purpose of this quantitative correlational-predictive study was to examine to what extent high school GPA, standardized college entrance exam scores, and grit (perseverance and consistency) predict first to second year student retention at…

Background: Instructors and students are on a continuing quest to identify predictors of learning. Objective: This study examines the associations between self-reported exam score and study techniques among students in two courses, Introductory Psychology and Computer Science. Method: We used an online survey to measure the extent students (N =…

This study examined physics major retention to degree at two institutions with substantially different admissions selectivity. Two modes of leaving the physics major were examined: leaving college and changing to another major while staying in college. The risk of leaving college while still enrolled as a physics major was highest in the spring…

Postsecondary student performance has been studied in great detail by higher education systems and their stakeholders in attempts to identify what may contribute to increased rates of retention and degree completion. Research on predictors of postsecondary performance has focused significantly on the relationship between performance and…

An analysis of 1955 physics graduate students from 19 Ph.D. programs shows that undergraduate grade point average predicts graduate grades and Ph.D. completion more effectively than GRE scores. Students' undergraduate GPA (UGPA) and GRE Physics (GRE-P) scores are small but statistically significant predictors of graduate course grades, while GRE…

Background: First-generation (FG) college students have been a popular subpopulation to study within educational literature as these students experience many unique challenges in their academic careers causing them to drop out within their first year. This gives courses with high first-time freshman numbers such as introductory psychology courses…

Many school districts in the United States are facing growing concerns regarding the shortage of qualified candidates for teaching positions. This problem has existed for some time, and its deleterious effects are exacerbated in school districts that have significant teacher turnover. School districts with higher teacher retention can mitigate…

Measures of biographical data, or biodata, provide indicators of one's life history and past experiences. Biodata information is often available in various forms during processes of academic admissions to higher education. Such information can be used, in combination with other factors, to predict students' future academic and extra-curricular…

This study analyzed the relationship between the perceived principal's authentic leadership (relational transparency, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing, and self-awareness) scores and the teachers' affective, normative, and continuance commitment scores when controlling for the principal's gender, and the teachers' age,…

The official stance of the Association America of Medical Colleges (AAMC) regarding the undergraduate major of applicants for admission to medical school is that there are no required or preferred majors. While the AAMC is the body that governs admission to allopathic medical schools in the United States, this statement does not provide clarity to…