The purpose of the study was to investigate how English language proficiency is related to teacher judgments of students' academic and interpersonal competence. It was hypothesized that English Language Learner (ELL) students would generally be perceived as having weaker academic and interpersonal skills than their non-ELL counterparts regardless…

This document presents the percentage of Texas students achieving the National Center for Educational Achievement's (NCEA) College and Career Readiness Targets and ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks. The key to all students graduating college and career ready is to be able to identify whether or not students, starting in elementary school, are on…

This study examined the effects of instructor support and students' global academic motivation on students' course-specific intrinsic motivation. The authors hypothesized, based on self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), that instructor support for students' psychological needs would enhance intrinsic motivation. Students reported their…

Folk beliefs in our culture support less rigorous curriculum for disadvantaged students, and initiatives to encourage educators to rethink these beliefs are in order. But that's not so easily accomplished. There's ample evidence that all kinds of beliefs are resistant to change. Nonetheless, research shows that disadvantaged students could handle…

Biculturalism was examined as a factor that may positively affect the academic achievement of African American high school students, beyond cultural identity and self-esteem. Hierarchical regression analyses determined that cultural identity and academic self-esteem were important factors for academic achievement, but not biculturalism.…

Background: Research has primarily concentrated on adults' implicit theories about high quality science education for all students. Little work has considered the students' perspective. This study investigated high school students' implicit theories about what helped them learn science. Purpose: This study addressed (1) What characterizes high…

The concept of fail-forward can be used as a teaching technique to motivate students to learn from their mistakes. For example, when students are allowed to re-work incorrect responses on a test for a partial grade they are failing-forward. In this paper we look at the effects of failing-forward on student effort in online learning environments.…

With the increasing prevalence of group work in marketing courses there is a need to consider the impact of students' social dynamics on both learning and satisfaction outcomes. This article explores one such dynamic at both intra- and intergroup levels. Using data generated from multiple sources, it was identified that students who are actively…

In this article, the author contends that to understand the concern over student mental health, one must first consider what students are reporting about themselves. Students with mental health issues are intellectually capable; rising numbers of accepted students with diagnosed psychological conditions confirm this. However, many conditions…

Research evidence for the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) has demonstrated that attending high-ability schools has a negative effect on academic self-concept. Utilizing multilevel modeling with the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment database, the present investigation evaluated the generalizability and robustness of the BFLPE…

Despite the recommendations of some measurement specialists, teachers do not always assign grades based on achievement only. The primary purpose of this study is to clarify the meaning of grades, and to examine some of the factors teachers consider when assigning final grades with a focus on borderline cases. The sample consisted of 516 American…

Children in residential care are a heterogeneous population, presenting various combinations of risks. Existing studies on these children suggest high variability across multiple domains (e.g., academics, behavior). Given this heterogeneity, it is important to begin to identify the combinations and patterns of multiple risks, or risk profiles,…

Existing research suggests that there is a relation between academic/cognitive deficits and externalizing behavior in young children, but the direction of this relation is unclear. The present study tested competing models of the relation between academic/cognitive functioning and behavior problems during early childhood. Participants were 221…

This study examined the measurement and interpretation of self-concept among the growing population of children who are English Language Learners (ELLs). More specifically, a 3-group analysis was conducted comparing native English-speaking children, Spanish-speaking ELLs, and ELLs from Asian language backgrounds. Data were drawn from the Early…

The low number of college graduates with science degrees--particularly among underrepresented minorities--is of growing concern. We examine differences across universities in graduating students in different fields. Using student-level data on the University of California system during a period in which racial preferences were in place, we show…