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…

This study took an experimental approach to evaluating test speededness. In order to assess the benefits of extra time (or the penalty of strict time limits) on new SAT scores, sections that were designed to be administered with a 25-minute time limit were administered with a 40-minute time limit (or slightly more than time and a half) as part of…

Researchers have theorized that programs to promote positive citizenship should begin with an opportunity for adolescents to participate in civic activities, such as community service or political volunteering. In this article we extend the theory by arguing that a more systemic approach is needed, in which a civic context is developed to promote…

In this study, we examined the associations between organized activity participation during early adolescence and adjustment in a large and economically diverse sample of African American and European American youth. The sample included 1,047 youth (51% female and 49% male and 67% African American and 33% European American). We used analysis of…

Assimilation theorists have long viewed inter-group romantic partnerships as indicators of racial equality. Although the past half-century has witnessed the erosion of anti-miscegenation laws and subsequent increases in the frequency of interracial marriages, these unions remain relatively infrequent. Low intermarriage rates may be partially…

In today's school systems, students of color, particularly in urban settings, represent the majority student populations (Lewis, Hancock, James, & Larke, in press). Interestingly, the educators--teachers and administrators--that comprise these settings are predominately White, and, in turn, the students of color commonly face pressures that…

The authors examined the relations between participation in a range of high school extracurricular contexts and developmental outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood among an economically diverse sample of African American and European American youths. In general, when some prior self-selection factors were controlled, 11th graders'…

As part of compliance with with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, this document presents the State Report Card of Arizona for 2009-2010. The report card provides tables relating to percentage of students who passed AIMS in Arizona by subject and grade. The tables shown in this document include: (1) Mathematics Grade 3; (2) Reading Grade 3; (3)…

This study extends previous research on the social psychological implications of pubertal timing to education by applying a life course framework to data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and from the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study. Early pubertal timing, which has previously been associated with major…

This article examines whether the importance of parents, siblings, best friends, and romantic interests are sex-specific in predicting daily juvenile smoking. Juveniles who smoke daily are strongly influenced by prosmoking attitudes and behaviors of same-sex family members. However, peers remain the most important associations in predicting daily…

RIASEC interests were assessed in grades 8, 10, and 12 on a large national sample of 69,987 college bound students. Random samples of 1000 were drawn to represent each of the major US ethnic groups (African, Asian, Native, Mexican, Latino (non Mexican), Anglo, and Multiracial Americans) and interests were examined as they varied across time,…

The empirical evidence about whom charter schools serve is extensive but inconclusive. Some studies conclude that America's charter schools serve a larger percentage of minority and low-income students than do the nation's traditional public schools (TPS) (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). Other studies find charter students are not more…

This article addresses the relationship between academic achievement and the student characteristics of absence and mobility. Mobility is a measure of how often a student changes schools. Absence is how often a student misses class. Standardized test scores are used as proxies for academic achievement. A model for the full joint distribution of…

The primary objective of this study was to determine the degree to which academic motivation predicted the executive help-seeking, instrumental help-seeking, perceived benefits of help-seeking, and avoidance of help-seeking of high school students enrolled in computer science (n = 314). Task goals were positively associated with instrumental…

In the United States, 70.8% of all deaths among youth and young adults aged 10-24 years result from only four causes: motor-vehicle crashes (32.3%), other unintentional injuries (11.7%), homicide (15.1%), and suicide (11.7%). Substantial morbidity and social problems also result from the approximately 870,000 pregnancies that occur each year among…