This report provides information on enrollment in the Texas public school system from the 2013-14 through 2023-24 school years, based on data collected through the Texas Student Data System. Enrollment data are provided by grade, race/ethnicity, gender, and economically disadvantaged status, and for instructional programs, nontraditional school…

Middle school is one of the most important times during which students gain knowledge. However, a large proportion of adolescents have continued to complete middle school without mastering essential knowledge of, and skills in, vocabulary and reading comprehension. Adolescents who miss school in the 30-60 days leading up to high-stakes exams…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the demographic characteristics of middle school students on their mathematics performance on the STAAR examination. More specifically, this study examined the effect of the variables gender, ethnicity, and at-risk status, separate and collectively, on the four mathematics components…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of selected demographic factors on the academic achievement of high school students. More specifically, this study was concerned with the effects of the variables gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) scores in Mathematics,…

Given that principals stand at the precipice between policy, the student body, and the community, this article examines the relationship between demographic shocks and principal turnover. In observing more than seven thousand schools in Texas over a seventeen-year period, hazard model results demonstrate that short-term demographic changes are…

Background: Energy drink consumption has become increasingly prevalent among US college students, yet little is known about current rates of consumption and reasons for consumption among current energy drink users, particularly differences related to gender and race/ethnicity. Objectives: To better understand energy drink consumption alone and…

Each time children change schools, they leave behind friends, and must adapt to a new environment. This new environment may include not only a new school, but also a new home, a new neighborhood, a new part of town, and, potentially, a new family arrangement. This larger array of possible changes will determine if the move causes overall benefit…

This executive summary highlights research findings on outcomes in education, employment, and income in the southern United States region. Findings include: (1) As a whole, Southern schools, colleges, and universities perform better than ever, though they are in constant need of improvement to meet the demands of both democracy and a changing…

Purpose: Suburban school districts have undergone significant demographic shifts over the past several decades. The research literature to date, however, has yet to explore how suburban district leaders are responding to such changes, or examine the factors that shape response. In this article, we apply a "zone of mediation" framework to…

Institutions of higher learning have struggled to retain incoming freshmen, especially Hispanic students, who historically face greater challenges to succeed. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the relationship between resiliency, self-efficacy, and persistence of college seniors with an emphasis on first- and…

This study addresses the segregation of English language learner (ELL) students in schools across Texas. We descriptively analyze levels of racial, economic, and linguistic isolation experienced by ELL students across the state of Texas. We also examine the association between segregation by race/ethnicity, economic disadvantage, and language…

The content area of social studies has not been given as much attention as its counterparts despite its inclusion in the state wide TAKS exam in Texas. All students in grades 8, 10, and 11 are required to take the social studies portion, and must pass it in order to graduate. The consequences of such a test and the importance of social studies in…

In this investigation, relationships between teacher ethnicity and student ethnicity in Texas public middle schools were examined. Through the Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System, publicly available data on all public middle schools in Texas for the 1999-2000 through 2009-2010 school years were downloaded. Statistically…

Many colleges and universities are expected to produce more graduates while responding to an increasing level of racial and ethnic diversity among students. While the importance of diversity within executive management leadership teams may be accepted among nonprofit higher education institutions, the connection between diversity among the…

This study examined demographic and geographic variability in aggregated school-level data on the percentage of students achieving the FITNESSGRAM[R] Healthy Fitness Zones[TM] (HFZ). Three-way analyses of variance were used to examine differences in fitness achievement rates among schools that had distinct diversity and socioeconomic status…