Research has focused on four groups of factors and the achievement gap: (1) student characteristics (high school GPA, attendance patterns, courses taken in high school, participation in extra-curricular activities, etc.); (2) family characteristics (family structure, in home, parents' level of education, mobility, etc.); (3) school-based…

Austin Partners in Education, a nonprofit organization, helps the community and AISD classrooms work together to ensure academic excellence and personal success for students. Academic outcomes, student engagement, and other variables for school year 2008-2009 were examined in this report.

"The Condition of Education 2017" is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing the latest data on education in the United States. This report is designed to help policymakers and the public monitor educational progress. This year's report includes 50 indicators on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary…

The admissions offices of 109 large, primarily white universities returned a questionnaire on their minority admission policies for the sixth consecutive year. The median percent of new black freshmen was down to 5 percent nationally in 1974 compared to 6 percent in 1973, with the largest drops occurring in the Middle States and Western regions.…

Public schools can be considered a form of workforce development, and thus it is important to measure the "work product" of the schools. The Public Policy Forum's annual analysis of public schools in the 50 districts serving southeastern Wisconsin measured absenteeism as educational opportunities lost because children were not in class.…

Using college entrance exams as a primary criterion for college admission discriminates against minorities and the poor, but the practice continues. Coaching for these exams is done in test preparation clinics. One clinic run by the NAACP substantially raised the scores of Blacks but not those of minorities as a whole. (VM)

This report provides information about the performance of 1997 graduating seniors nationwide who took the American College Testing Program (ACT) Assessment as sophomores, juniors, or seniors. These students may not be representative of the total population of graduating seniors at a given school, depending on patterns of students taking the ACT.…

Recently the electorate in some states in the United States has voted to eliminate the use of racial preferences in college admissions. However, many voters still favor fair and just means for promoting ethnic diversity in higher education. In light of these new conditions, researchers are interested in finding alternative measures of merit that…

This is the 10th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District RUSD). Analysis continues to focus on the long-term historical trends in RUSD, comparing RUSD to nine peer school districts and the State of Wisconsin. RUSD peer districts are Wisconsin's largest (Milwaukee Public Schools are not included) and their…

This report seeks to answer the question whether improving the course-taking choices of urban school students can close the achievement gap between urban students and students nationally. It examines ACT Assessment scores for June 1997 high school graduates from school districts that are members of the Council of the Great City Schools. The…

Arizona Minority Education Policy Analysis Center (AMEPAC) is a policy center of the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education. AMEPAC's mission is to stimulate, through studies, statewide discussion, and debate, constructive improvement of Arizona minority students' early awareness, access, and achievement throughout all sectors of…

This is the 9th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District RUSD). Over the past decade, the conditions affecting the district as well as the school outcomes have changed in some ways and remained stable in others. This analysis compares RUSD to nine peer school districts and the state of Wisconsin. RUSD peer…

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…

For Blacks and Hispanics, standardized admission tests and licensing exams are barriers to schools and occupations. Case studies are presented of college admission tests and teacher testing that place women and minorities at a disadvantage. Test biases and misuse must be eliminated and new forms of evaluation must be developed. (VM)

This study focused on the relationship between high school students' course-taking patterns and their achievement of higher-order thinking skills. PLAN scores (in grade 10) and ACT Assessment scores (in grades 11 or 12) were collected for 73,818 students in 1,174 high schools. The findings show that, in a typical high school, eleventh- and…