According to a report by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), scholarship athletes at Division I institutions continue to graduate at a rate higher than students over all. Among white male students, athletes graduated at a lower rate than their peers in the student body at large. In a handful of the biggest programs, athletes completed…

In this article, we describe patterns of Hispanic students' math skill development during elementary school using data from a nationally representative sample of Hispanic students assessed in math skills from kindergarten through 5th grade. Several robust patterns are evident. First, Hispanic students enter kindergarten with average math skills…

The use of standardized testing to evaluate academic achievement is a widely debated topic. Despite controversies, standardized testing is used in all educational levels from elementary school to college entrance examinations. One of the ethnic groups particularly affected by this is the Mexican-origin population. An integrated model (individual,…

This study compares demographic characteristics, sexual risk factors for HIV/STI, and cultural predictors of sexual risk among 254 Dominican and 1,012 Puerto Rican women using outpatient health care in New York City. More Dominicans were born outside continental United States and were employed, whereas more Puerto Ricans were single and less…

This case study was designed to describe how an effective English-speaking prekindergarten teacher develops strategies for communicating with and teaching young English language learners. The teacher's classroom practices to enhance her own relationship with the children promoted opportunities for the Latino children to become full participants in…

Behavioral theories developed through research with mainstream, English-speaking populations have been applied to ethnically diverse and underserved communities in the effort to eliminate disparities in early breast cancer detection. This study tests the validity of the transtheoretical model (TTM) decisional balance measure and the application of…

We use multilevel modeling of ECLS-K data (a nationally representative sample of American kindergartners) to describe the process and content of kindergarten mathematics instruction, as well as the associations of such instruction with achievement gaps by social class and race/ethnicity. Where instructional effectiveness is concerned, time spent…

Taking a position that is unusual these days, New Jersey officials are promoting research that says bilingual education methods have an edge over English-only methods in teaching English-language learners to read. This article talks about the importance of bilingual education or a blended approach in the implementation of Reading First Program in…

Background: Adolescent smoking rates have declined among all ethnic groups since the late 1990s. However, despite the recent declines and intervention efforts, today smoking remains a serious problem among youth, with a quarter of adolescents being current smokers by the time they complete 12th grade. This problem is particularly prevalent among…

Educating students from linguistically diverse backgrounds has historically been the domain of the ESL teacher. However, new migration patterns and changing student demographics force the mainstream teacher into a new role: the language and content teacher. In order to embrace this new role, educators must implement instructional strategies…

In September 2006, the State Board approved a new System Direction to guide the two-year-college system for the next ten years. One of three primary goals for the system is to increase educational attainment for the economic development of the state and the economic well-being of Washingtonians. Since 2000, State Board staff has provided periodic…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community College Count, this issue of "Data Notes" is the first of a two-part series investigating the characteristics of late stop-outs--students who accumulate at least 30 credits within the first two years, only to stop out without completing credentials or transferring. Seventy-five percent of…

The purpose of this annotated bibliography is to identify and summarize research on the scope, characteristics and impact of academic and social support services for students. Several reports on academic rigor have also been included to establish a context for the importance of social and academic support. The bibliography is divided into five…

The number of U.S. children living in poverty increased in 2007--continuing an upward trend dating back to 2000: in 2007, 13.3 million children were living in poverty, up from 11.6 million children in 2000. The percentage of children living in families with incomes below the poverty line has increased from 16.2 percent in 2000 to 18.0 percent in…

This publication reproduces the keynote address delivered by the author at the annual conference of the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) in March 2009, in San Antonio, Texas. In her essay, the author discusses the significance of the growing Hispanic presence through the lens of education. To frame the challenges--and…