This study investigates delayed college entry, including how college enrollment differs based on students' plans while in high school. Results confirm that low-SES students are repeatedly disadvantaged in the college transition, but add complexity concerning the influences of family income, parental education, and parental occupational status.…

This article explores the determinants of persistence in the Chilean higher education system, considering academic and socio-demographic factors as well as the role of financial aid. The financial aid policy for students in Chile has undergone major changes over the last decade, which has allowed individuals from usually underrepresented income…

The public health benefit of school physical education (PE) depends in large part on physical activity (PA) provided during class. According to the literature, PE has a valuable role in public health, and PA levels during PE classes depend on a wide range of factors. The main objective of this study, based on ecological models of behaviour, was to…

Students' frequent exposure to inquiry-based science teaching is presumed more effective than their exposure to traditional didactic instruction in helping improve competence in content knowledge and problem solving. Framed through theoretical perspectives of inquiry-based instruction and culturally relevant pedagogy, this study examines this…

Based on Berry's seminal work on the acculturation process, this study examines the pattern of acculturation attitude among international postgraduate students in Malaysia, an emerging education hub in Asia. It also investigates the influence of several demographic factors (gender, geographical region, marital status, and education level) and…

The use of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) across nations, cultures, and languages has been criticized. The key criticisms point to the linguistic and cultural biases potentially underlying the design of reading comprehension tests, raising doubts about the legitimacy of comparisons across economies. Our research focused…

Understanding student motivations for participating in high-impact educational practices is important for improving learning experiences. This article explores student motivations across and within five forms of experiential learning at Elon University: study abroad, research, internships, service-learning, and leadership experiences. Surveys and…

Students and families all over the country are saving, working, taking out loans, and taking steps to make college affordable. Yet they still find themselves facing an unreasonably high price for college, with unexpected, and sometimes untenable, expenses, and fall short of the resources they need to successfully complete degrees. Financial…

In this research report, we review commonly held beliefs about test-optional policies and practices. Focusing solely on empirical evidence, we highlight research findings that directly address the state intentions and actual outcomes of such practices. Throughout the paper, we raise concerns with test-optional policies as they pertain both to…

In this technical brief, the authors summarize empirical evidence from their full report comparing the stated intentions and actual outcomes of test-optional practices. An overview of five commonly stated assertions of test-optional practices along with empirical evidence that contradicts these assertions is provided in this brief. [For the full…

Assessing pragmatic knowledge in the instructed setting is seen as a complex but necessary task, which requires the design of appropriate research methodologies to examine pragmatic performance. This study discusses the use of two different research methodologies, namely those of Discourse Completion Tests/Tasks (DCTs) and verbal reports. Research…

This policy brief is based on the edited book "The Magic Key: The Educational Journey of Mexican Americans from K-12 to College and Beyond" (Zambrana & Hurtado, 2015a), which focuses on the experiences of Mexican Americans in education. Drawing from an interdisciplinary corpus of work, the authors move beyond the rhetoric of progress…

This dissertation examines the gap in college enrollment between Asian Americans and Latino Americans regarding the effects of family and school factors, classifying them into the six ethnic/generational status groups (Asian American first generation, Asian American second generation, Asian American third generation and plus, Latino American first…

In a northeastern state eighth grade math students are struggling with meeting adequate yearly progress in math. The state's math proficiency in the school year 2013-2014 for eighth grade students showed that only 56% scored at grade level or above. The local problem addressed in this study is that 44% of a northeastern state's eighth graders are…

This study examined the early college success of students who graduated from an Indiana high school in 2010 and enrolled immediately in a public two-year or four-year college in Indiana. The study team identified data elements in Indiana's Student Information System that predicted the early college success of this cohort of students. Half of…