In this paper, I use a nationally representative sample of American high school seniors in 1992 to examine change and stability in the employment patterns of youth as they make the transition from high school to college. Students with weak attachments to the labor force in high school tend to remain unemployed during the first year of college.…

This longitudinal study followed 142 children to determine whether the quality of mother-child interactions, as measured in kindergarten, predicted high school academic achievement and attainment. Findings showed that, regardless of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, and IQ, positive mother-child interactions in kindergarten were…

Using multilevel models, the authors tested the hypothesis that high schools, through their curricular policies, operate as mechanisms that help members of privileged groups to take better advantage of postsecondary opportunities. The analysis was based on a 7-year follow-up study of 44,666 Israeli students who graduated from 385 high schools in…

The District conducts a "cross-sectional" analysis of student dropouts annually; it examines dropout rates among students enrolled in various grades at one point in time. A "longitudinal" analysis, also conducted annually, tracks a group of students in the same grade or cohort over a period of several years. Each method…

Conducted in urban and rural schools in two provinces of South Africa, the present study reports biology learners' understanding of concepts about genetics and inheritance. Participants were Grade 11 and 12 learners, aged 15-16 years. The tools included a written questionnaire, interviews, pre- and post-paper and pencil tests and focus group…

This longitudinal study examined psychopathology as a predictor and outcome of organized activity involvement during high school among 198 adolescents who varied in risk for psychopathology as a function of their mother's depression history. Higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in eighth grade significantly predicted lower…

Using a nationally representative sample from the National Educational Longitudinal Study, this research examines the longitudinal effects of race and socioeconomic status on 12th-grade educational achievement and achievement 2 years after high school. For 12th-grade outcomes, the authors found no statistical difference in scores between Hispanic…

In this Issue Brief, differences in the average number of course credits earned between high school graduates and dropouts, both within and accumulated across academic years, are examined in order to describe enrollment and completion behavior of high school graduates and dropouts. Differences in course credit accrual by selected subjects…

This article explores the conceptual change of students in Grades 10 and 12 in three Australian senior high schools when the teachers included computer multimedia to a greater or lesser extent in their teaching of a genetics course. The study, underpinned by a multidimensional conceptual-change framework, used an interpretive approach and a…

We use heterogeneity in the timing of television's introduction to different local markets to identify the effect of preschool television exposure on standardized test scores later in life. Our preferred point estimate indicates that an additional year of preschool television exposure raises average test scores by about .02 standard deviations. We…

Inside this issue are: (1) Questions Tool; (2) NAEP Support; (3) NAEP Writing Assessment; (4) Grade 12 Results; (5) Background Questions: (6) NAEP Scale Scores and Achievement Levels; and (7) Grade 8 Math Comparisons by Ethnic Group. This publication notes several points of interest. 170,000 students at each grade and subject will be selected to…

In this article we describe gender gaps in mathematics achievement and attitude as measured by the U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) from 1990 to 2003. Analyzing relationships among achievement and mathematical content, student proficiency and percentile levels, race, and socioeconomic status (SES), we found that gender gaps…

This study presented and tested a model of sexual satisfaction for late adolescent girls. In this model, sexual self-concept and approach sexual motives were tested as predictors of adolescent girls' sexual satisfaction with their most recent experience of sexual intercourse. A total of 116 girls in 12th grade (ages 16-19) completed measures of…

The Monitoring the Future (MTF) study involves an ongoing series of national surveys of American adolescents and adults that has provided the nation with a vital window into the important, but largely hidden, problem behaviors of illegal drug use, alcohol use, tobacco use, anabolic steroid use, and psychotherapeutic drug use. For more than a third…

This report is based on the discussions of the February 2008 "Teaching by Choice: Beyond 2 + 2" conference, convened by the American Association of Community Colleges to focus on the growing role of community colleges as providers of teacher education and source of professional development for elementary, middle and secondary teachers of science,…