Background: Quantitative methods used in social science research draw from frameworks that (a) abstract constructs and separate them from relevant knowledges that are not easily quantifiable, and (b) reify deficit orientations in support of racial oppression (Strunk & Hoover, 2019; Zuberi, 2001; Zuberi & Bonilla-Silva, 2008). This paper…

The harm to student learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has been well documented and an incredible influx of resources--including $260 billion in federal government investment--has been dedicated to support schools' recovery. Much of this money has been spent developing and expanding academic recovery efforts such as after-school tutoring and…

Planning course study is critical to facilitate strategic intervention in education. As a significant basis of planning course study, student performance prediction aims to utilize students existing relevant information to predict their future learning performance including course grades, course failure, grade point average, etc. We target course…

Grading practices at Dalhousie University have changed considerably over the past 120 years. From 1901 until the early 1970s, Dalhousie used a variant of the British system. Initially, a grade of 65% or higher was required for distinction. In 1937, Dalhousie moved to a 2-category system (Distinction vs. Ordinary Pass) and in 1942 the distinction…

Given the emphasis placed on laboratory reform and student engagement in authentic science practice, this manuscript outlines the development of a hybrid project-based laboratory (HPBL) curriculum centered around specific instructor goals and provides examples on how those goals were met by the experiments and how the change in curriculum affected…

The use of the 1-4 grading scale is gaining popularity as schools transition to competency-based education. However, independent interpretations and percentage conversions have led to general confusion and sometimes outright rejection of competency-based assessment. The first step to establish clear communication is to anchor the existing…

Institutions of higher education face a great deal of pressure to be accessible, inclusive, and diverse, but these goals should not come at the expense of maintaining high standards. Universal and vigilantly enforced standards exist not only to safeguard students' best interests, but are crucial to the academic integrity and core educational…

ACT retesting occurs when students take the ACT® test multiple times with the goal of improving their scores and postsecondary credentials. In this paper, the author examines preliminary data for the 2022 ACT-tested graduating cohort to better understand the ACT score gains that occur with retesting. The author presents the following six things to…

While most community colleges admit all students who apply for admission, the vast majority have required students to demonstrate specified levels of literacy and numeracy before they can take college-level courses. Typically, students have been assessed using a single placement test, such as the College Board's ACCUPLACER. Colleges--or sometimes…

Students enter the college application process on unequal footing--with various levels of financial, social, and cultural capital they can rely on to navigate it. At least 10 states and hundreds of colleges and universities have begun "direct admissions" programs, which proactively admit students using data like their GPA and ACT/SAT…

Too many policies and practices aiming to improve college access and admissions overlook an important group of prospective enrollees: current college students. Substantial policy attention is placed on supporting college applications and decisions for those applying straight from high school. Even though one million students switch into a new…

The Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) rewards students who strive to excel in high school and continue their education in degree and certificate programs in Alaska. This report covers the high school, postsecondary, Alaska residency, and workforce outcomes of the APS program between Fall 2011-2023. [This report was prepared by Resource Data,…

At community colleges and open-enrollment universities, most first-year students take placement exams in English and mathematics to determine whether they are ready for college-level courses. But large-scale studies have indicated that these test scores misplace substantial numbers of students--in other words, for many students, the test score…

Social and emotional (SE) skills are known to be linked with many important life outcomes, including academic performance, performance on standardized college entrance exams, and college enrollment, although research on enrollment is limited. In this report, the authors present data points from a study that evaluated test-criterion validity…

The Texas Afterschool Centers on Education (ACE) is the program administered through the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for the federally funded 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) grants. The Texas ACE Foundation Communities Cycle 9 program is composed of a compilation of activities at 3 AISD campuses that provide a comprehensive range of…