This study examines what students enrolled in the honors and general sections of a high school biology course offered at the same school learn when they have an opportunity to participate in a broad or narrow range of science practices during their laboratory experiences. The results of our analysis suggest that the students enrolled in the…

High-ability entering college students give three main reasons for not choosing to become part of honors programs and colleges; they and/or their parents believe that honors classes at the university level require more work than non-honors courses, are more stressful, and will adversely affect their self-image and grade point average (GPA) (Hill;…

Learning to write well is a significant outcome of higher education, as confirmed and illustrated in the Written Communication VALUE Rubric of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). Scholars agree that writing and thinking are linked. Thinking about this relationship between writing and thinking in the context of…

This paper summarizes evaluation findings about a high school credit recovery (CR) program as solicited by a statesponsored virtual school in the United States. Student and teacher surveys explained why CR students failed previous instances of face-to-face courses and defined how the online CR model helped these learners overcome both internal…

This study gathered, analyzed, and compared perspectives of students who were honors-eligible but never began the program, students who began in honors and discontinued their enrollment, and those who were persisting in honors. Broadly speaking (and not surprisingly), the responses of students persisting in honors reflected the most positive…

The focus of this research is to evaluate the relationship between advanced high school science courses and college outcomes, with a focus on the benefit of Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) participation and performance in comparison to other high school options (e.g., dual enrollment, honors, and regular science high school courses). Although…

The number of students who become completers of an honors program on college campuses is low. A mixed methods approach was utilized to determine the perceptions of gifted students regarding an honors program at a private, Southeastern university. Students who were honors program participants, honors program drop-outs, and qualified…

This study explores the association of students' self-perceived critical thinking ability with participation in Residential Honors living-learning programs versus Civic/Social Leadership living-learning programs and non-participation in living-learning programs. The study analyzes data from the 2004 National Study of Living-Learning Programs…

A study was undertaken at William Rainey Harper College in Illinois to determine the effect of the college's Honors program on students who had completed at least one Honors course from spring 1990 to spring 1995. Questionnaires were mailed to 372 students, representing 547 enrollments in 23 different courses and 16 different disciplines. Study…