This qualitative phenomenological research employed purposive sampling to delve into the educational concept of equity disparity stemming from college readiness programs. The study specifically targeted teachers and administrators who possessed firsthand experience with the phenomenon of inequity observed among students achieving success within…

For the past decade and a half, many institutions of higher education have asked about high school disciplinary experiences, including suspensions, on their applications. Advocates have argued that this "discipline box" has a negative effect on suspended students' likelihood to apply and be accepted to institutions of higher education…

Many students enter into higher education institutions to pursue degrees in STEM fields with varying levels of academic preparedness, and many students will never finish a college degree. To address academic underpreparedness, many institutions have developed remedial coursework to increase student persistence and graduation rates with varying…

This paper describes the Berlin "Abitur" examination in the twentieth century and its written documentation in files. By the late nineteenth century, the "Abitur" examination was fully established in Prussia and with it a graduation certificate that was obligatory for university entrance. Thus, the "Abitur"…

Widening participation in higher education for under-represented groups is a priority internationally. In Australia, the most common entry pathway for domestic undergraduate students is by obtaining an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in the final year of secondary school. The ATAR system, however, has been criticised as disadvantaging…

Academic performance tends to deteriorate during the transition from high school to post-secondary education. In this study, our goal was to investigate whether the degree of this performance deterioration differs across the four subtypes of perfectionism from the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism. Samples of 392 university students and 946 college…

This work used mixed methods to understand the enrollment of historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) high schools. Grounded in previous work that described and recommended school practices for recruitment, admission, and retention of students from historically…

Using rich longitudinal data from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), the authors compare the performance of private and state school pupils in age 16 national examinations (GCSEs) in England, where private schools are particularly well resourced by international standards. Performance among pupils attending private secondary schools is…

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the GPA of graduates of social majors at National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» (Ukraine) with the results of the entrance assessment, learning motivation, achievement motivation, and perception of teacher leadership, based on the correlation and regression…

Fluent transitions to higher education are a common concern, especially in highly selective Finnish teacher education (TE). This study examined the fit between the matriculation examination (ME) results and the selection criteria applied in TE. We studied the accepted applicants in Finland in 2013-2015 (n = 5116), and both the accepted and…

As part of a larger research study entitled "Where Do Test Scores Fit in a Test-Optional Environment," the authors surveyed students who took the ACT on June 11, 2022, in order to better understand why high school students would take a standardized test like the ACT when they knew they were applying to test-optional institutions. Among…

To evaluate how Advanced Placement (AP) courses affect college-going, we randomly assigned the offer of enrollment into an AP science course to over 1,800 students in twenty-three schools that had not previously offered the course. We find no AP course effects on students' college entrance exam scores (SAT/ACT). As expected, AP course-takers are…

While earning a high school diploma is a critical educational milestone for students, research has shown that obtaining a college degree further equalizes opportunities and increases their upward mobility. To be eligible to apply for the University of California system, students must take 15 college-preparatory courses during their high school…

South Korea implemented many-pronged educational reforms, notably to transition from heavy reliance on a high-stakes standardised test to more diversified assessment for university admissions. Nonetheless, this effort created another arena of competition towards meritocratic credentials--such as academic publications. The South Korean government,…

This study analyzes the alignment between the educational policy of Turkey and high-stakes tests administered for students transitioning from secondary to high school. Research questions focus on the opinions of secondary school teachers about the alignment between transit exam questions and curricula, course books and materials, and their views…