The test-optional movement in American college admissions emerged as a response to the challenged notion that standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT, predict student success. Research has shown that the tests may be discriminatory towards students from disadvantaged racial and ethnic backgrounds. This study examined two cohorts of incoming…

The recent anti-racist movements in the United States have inspired a national call for more research on the experiences of racially marginalized and minoritized students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. As researchers focused on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, we contend that STEM education must, as…

Community colleges are under ongoing pressure to increase the success of students placed into developmental courses; while many reforms focus on the length of course sequences, there is also attention on how students are assessed and placed. Studies of these assessment and placement (A&P) methods focus primarily on predictive validity; one…

The American College Test (ACT) serves as the most utilized college admissions test in the United States. With disparities existing in the scores of Black males on the ACT exam compared to their peers, it is imperative to explore how these students are perceiving and experiencing the ACT. This study explored how Black male students experience the…

The charter school movement encompasses many school models. In Massachusetts in the 2010's, the site of our study, urban charter schools primarily used "No Excuses" practices, whereas nonurban charters had greater model variety. Using randomized admissions lotteries, we estimate the impact of charter schools by locality on college…

Every year, millions of students take Advanced Placement (AP) exams hoping to score enough points to earn college credit and save on their tuition bill. But are they getting a real college education? The College Board says that AP classes and exams make the AP program more accessible and represent a step forward for educational justice. But the…

Colleges across the country struggle with determining the most appropriate means of placing students into math and English coursework. Most colleges utilize a single high-stakes standardized placement exam to assess incoming students and use strict cut-scores to determine students' placement. However, the ability of these tests to accurately place…

In this article we address the mounting criticism and rejection of standardized tests used in the selection of students for college or university education. Admission tests are being increasingly demonized in many parts of the world and many colleges and universities are dropping tests for selection purposes, claiming the tests are detrimental to…

Before nursing graduates can practice as a registered nurse, they must successfully pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Low first-time pass rates on this high-stakes test can cause concern for multiple stakeholders including graduate nurses, nursing programs, health care organizations, and society. The…

An increasing number of postsecondary institutions in the United States have introduced test-optional admissions policies primarily due to criticism of standardized admissions tests as potentially biased predictors of student success. However, the impact of the test-optional movement is largely unknown and continues to evolve amid the COVID-19…

Mathematics anxiety in initial teacher education is a growing issue that reflects on teacher quality and their student's maths anxiety and abilities. Previous studies have presented a range of different perspectives to mathematics anxiety. We aimed to explore further the reasons of mathematics anxiety in preservice teachers and suggest some…

The main objective of this dissertation was to investigate factors that affect decision-makers' trust in and reliance on algorithmic predictions as decision aids in the context of college admission prediction tasks. College admission officers often made predictions about the applicants' future success based on multiple pieces of available…

The purpose of the retrospective quantitative cohort regression study was to identify predictors of success on the Next Generation National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NGN-NCLEX-RN) and determine if changes are needed in the nursing program curriculum. Nurse educators and nursing administration are responsible for aligning…

Reflecting upon the experience serving on the University of California's Standardized Testing Task Force, and drawing lessons learned, I argue that the COVID-19 pandemic has merely served to accelerate the trend of US higher education institutions moving away from current standardized tests. New educational assessments will continue to be…

Most selective colleges implemented test-optional admissions during the pandemic, making college entrance exam scores optional for applicants. We draw on descriptive, two-way fixed effects, and event study methods to examine variation in test-optional implementation during the pandemic and how implementation relates to selectivity and enrollment.…