College-readiness testing has increased drastically over the last thirty years, with increases in the number of Scholastic Achievement Tests and American College Tests taken by students. The number of Advanced Placement tests has also reached an all-time high. With states using these college-readiness assessments as high-stakes exit tests and the…

Grade inflation is causing student's hard work to be undervalued. As high grades get easier and easier to achieve, the highest grades can only go up so far. The difference between excellent and decent is compressed. Everybody wins is a system that guides and shapes the mindset of most American students--except a small number of kids who lose out…

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to test Goddard et al.'s (2004) theory of collective efficacy by relating collective efficacy of both certified and noncertified staff to Missouri public high school students' ACT Scores. Additionally, it could be beneficial for future educational leaders to gain insight into collective…

Cultural intelligence is one's ability to adapt when confronted with problems arising in interactions with people or artifacts of diverse cultures. In this study, we conduct an initial construct-validation and assessment of a maximum-performance test of cultural intelligence. We assess the psychometric properties of the test and also correlate the…

This mixed-methods study explored American College Test (ACT) composite scores and Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) growth scores in connection with a student's race, socioeconomic status, and gender as well as perceived factors that promote or inhibit success on the ACT. Quantitative data were collected from existing TVAAS data for…

The roles of technology and education were at the forefront throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This mixed-methods study examines the role of the three levels of the digital divide (i.e., access, capability, and outcomes) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kentucky. We create and analyze a new multifaceted measure of district-level digital capacity to…

This paper documents the development of the Mosaic Readiness Index, a score that is reported for individuals who take the high school version of Mosaic by ACT®: Social Emotional Learning Assessment (hereafter referred to as the Mosaic assessment). The Mosaic Readiness Index is designed to predict high school academic outcomes--namely high school…

Procedures for identifying the gifted often make use of tests of general intelligence, among other assessments. Robert J. Sternberg recently suggested that identification of the gifted should further involve assessment of what he refers to as adaptive intelligence--the ability to adapt to real-world environments. Such a conception of intelligence…

A positive school climate is important for students' social and emotional wellness and ability to learn. For example, students with positive relationships with their teachers and who feel safe at school tend to show higher academic performance (Korpershoek et al., 2020). The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship of school…

We administered both maximum-performance and typical-performance assessments of cultural intelligence to 114 undergraduates in a selective university in the Northeast of the United States. We found that cultural intelligence could be measured by both maximum-performance and typical-performance tests of cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence…

This quantitative study investigated whether a relationship existed between principal's instructional leadership behavior and college readiness as measured by ACT scores in Catholic and private schools in south Louisiana. The study surveyed both teacher and principal perceptions of principal instructional leadership behaviors through the Principal…

Social and emotional (SE) skills are related to many positive outcomes, including academic performance, degree attainment, and life satisfaction, and are often taught through social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. Furthermore, a positive school climate is important for students' social and emotional wellness and ability to learn. For…

Harris-Stowe State University is a relatively small university located in Missouri's largest metropolitan area. Yet the students at Harris-Stowe are clearly different from the students at the other eleven Missouri public universities. The student body of Harris-Stowe is predominantly African American, over 85 percent. Harris-Stowe State University…

Latent classes of effective and non-effective Algebra I teachers were established using measurements of teacher promoted engagement, teacher promoted understanding, and classroom management from the Measures of Effective Teaching Project (MET Project) database. Historically, robust measures of effective teaching exist in the literature; however,…

Social and emotional (SE) skills are related to many positive outcomes, including degree attainment, improved academic performance, and increased life satisfaction, and are often taught through social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. A positive school climate is important for students' social and emotional wellness and ability to learn. For…