To evaluate how Advanced Placement (AP) courses affect college-going, we randomly assigned the offer of enrollment into an AP science course to over 1,800 students in twenty-three schools that had not previously offered the course. We find no AP course effects on students' college entrance exam scores (SAT/ACT). As expected, AP course-takers are…

This paper uses administrative North Carolina data linked from high school to college and national surveys to characterize the largest contributor to the STEM gender gap: engineering. Disparities are the result of differential entry during high school or earlier rather than postsecondary exit. Differences in pre-college academic preparation…

This study examined the contributions of students' noncognitive characteristics toward explaining performance on the ACT® test, over and above traditional predictors such as high school grade point average (HSGPA), coursework taken, and school characteristics. The sample consisted of 6,440 high school seniors from 4,541 schools who took the ACT in…

Inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs) (where STEM is science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) admit students on the basis of interest rather than competitive examination. This study examines the central assumption behind these schools--that they provide students from subgroups underrepresented in STEM with experiences that equip them…

Research shows that students who take a certain core curriculum are better prepared for college than those students who do not; however, data indicate that taking core courses is not enough: Teachers must assign greater rigor in all courses they teach, especially courses needed for college (Schmeiser, 2007). As early as 1983 the National…

Students in New Mexico may take either the American College Test Assessment (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), although the ACT is most often used in New Mexico. Results from both examinations are presented in this report, based on those students who were expected to graduate in 1993 and who had expressed an interest in attending…

Students in New Mexico may take either the American College Test Assessment (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), although New Mexico students usually take the ACT. Results from both examinations are presented in this report, based on seniors expected to graduate. Overall, New Mexico and national composite scores have remained steady on the…

Data from the 1993-94 ACT Assessment and a follow-up were examined to see how many black and white students eventually enrolled in what had been their first-choice colleges. Results for 12,448 blacks and 125,298 whites indicate that initial choices by blacks are more liable to change. (SLD)

Factors that account for variance between groups of Mississippi students in their choice of college types were studied using data from the 1991 American College Testing (ACT) Program. The objectives of this study were to describe Mississippi students who plan to attend community or junior colleges and who took the spring 1991 ACT Assessment…