The retention of high-achieving students in a university honors program is a significant challenge for academic institutions. This dissertation evaluates how well an honors college at a large, urban, public university retains students in the Honors College. The evaluation is a mixed-methods utilization-focused evaluation conducted by an internal…

Self-perception of academic competence is a strong predictor of students' achievement striving. We examined adolescents' beliefs about their math teachers' perceptions of students (reflected classroom appraisals) and math track placement as subtle sources of information that might influence students' math self-concept. Sixth graders (n = 322; 72%…

Many people within and outside of higher education view honors programs as providing meaningful academic experiences that promote learning and growth for high-achieving students. To date, the research exploring the link between honors participation and college grades and retention has obtained mixed results; some of the seemingly conflicting…

Admission to honors programs is competitive and typically relies heavily on the applicant's high school grades and SAT scores. Research shows that of the two criteria, the stronger predictor of performance in an honors curriculum is the high school record, which would imply that grades should receive the greater emphasis. We surveyed current…

Supporters of university honors programs argue that these programs benefit the university and entire student body while critics argue that honors programs reproduce socioeconomic and racial privileges. In an attempt to address these issues, researchers used quantitative survey data to compare the background characteristics, behaviors, and…

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…

This study investigated high school students' and teachers' perceptions of academic self perception, environmental perceptions, goal valuation, and motivation/self-regulation as factors affecting students' academic achievement. A two-way MANOVA was conducted to determine if high school students' gender and academic programs,…