The credibility of unsupervised exams, one of the biggest challenges of e-learning, is currently maintained by proctoring. However, little has been done to determine whether expensive and inconvenient proctoring is necessary. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether the use of security mechanisms, based on the taxonomy of…

A multi-year study investigated the impact of incorporating student-directed discovery projects into introductory statistics courses. Pilot instructors at institutions across the United States taught statistics implementing student-directed projects with the help of a common set of instructional materials designed to facilitate such projects.…

The effectiveness of a peer-mentoring program was examined at a university in California. Previous studies suggest university peer mentoring might increase students' feelings of engagement, which can contribute to their retention. Pretest and posttest data were collected from 304 freshmen (mentored and nonmentored) during the fall of 2012 in a…

The present article considers a fundamental question in evaluation research: "By how much do program effects vary across sites?" The article first presents a theoretical model of cross-site impact variation and a related estimation model with a random treatment coefficient and fixed site-specific intercepts. This approach eliminates…

This study employed a quasi-experimental design to examine the effects of a school-based youth participatory action research program on the education outcomes of participating high school students. The program was a year-long elective course in six high schools in the same California district whose student population is predominantly low-income…

Many math students, both EL and non-EL, struggle to reach the level of proficiency on California state tests which is required since the passage of NCLB in 2002 (California Department of Education, 2012). In California only 34% of students scored at the level of proficiency or above in 2011 (National Assessment for Educational Progress, 2012). The…

Despite federal and state laws and regulations that require states and local districts to provide English language learners (ELLs) with support services, prior research has indicated that ELLs are, in general, lagging behind non-ELLs in academic achievement. An unanswered question is whether the initial designation of students as ELL influences…

College textbook publishers increasingly bundle sophisticated technology-based study tools with their texts. These tools appear promising, but empirical work on their efficacy is needed. We examined whether LearnSmart, a study tool bundled with McGraw-Hill's textbook "Chemistry" (Chang & Goldsby, 2013), improved learning in an…

Students with disabilities need to be more involved in planning and presenting individualized education program (IEP) meetings, and teachers need an effective, efficient curriculum to teach students how. "My IEP" curriculum uses folding graphic organizers to teach students to self-direct IEP meetings, targeting self-advocacy and…

Research into science identity, stereotype threat, and possible selves suggests a lack of diverse representations of scientists could impede traditionally underserved students from persisting and succeeding in science. We evaluated a series of metacognitive homework assignments ("Scientist Spotlights") that featured counterstereotypical…

This study investigated how three factors impacted performance on cost-volume-profit homework problems: language, formula use, and instruction. Students enrolled in Introduction to Financial Accounting (the first principles of accounting course) and Managerial Accounting (the second principles of accounting course) from eight different US colleges…

This quasi-experimental study reports on the effectiveness of three assessment strategies for students' performance. The primary goal was to determine whether there are any improvements in students' conceptual learning when a frequent (weekly) quiz is used for grading purposes compared to using midterm and final examinations only. Another goal was…

English language learners (ELL students) were not attaining and maintaining sufficient proficiency at public schools in Northern California, as measured by students' achievement scores on state and district assessments. The purpose of this quasi-experimental research was to determine whether there were differences in academic language arts…

We examined the sexual health change process experienced by 26 college student sexual health educators from three geographic regions of the United States who participated in a multisite arts-based sexual health prevention program. We conducted eight focus groups and used a phenomenological approach to analyze data. We drew from social cognitive…

This study examines the impact of affirmative action bans in six states (California, Washington, Florida, Texas, Michigan, and Nebraska) on the matriculation rates of historically underrepresented students of color in public medical schools in these states. Findings show that affirmative action bans have led to about a 17% decline (from 18.5% to…