Descriptions of validity results based solely on correlation coefficients or percent of the variance accounted for are not merely difficult to interpret, they are likely to be misinterpreted. Predictors that apparently account for a small percent of the variance may actually be highly important from a practical perspective. This study combined two…

Sociologists have long used educational expectations to understand the complex mental processes underlying individuals' educational decision making. Yet, little research evaluates how students actually formulate their educational expectations. Status attainment theory asserts that students adopt their educational expectations early based on family…

This study examines factors affecting students' performances in an Introductory Sociology course over five semesters. Employing simple and ordered logit regression models, the author explains final grades by focusing on individual demographic and educational characteristics that students bring into the classroom. The results show that a student's…

Most medical schools attempt to select applicants on the basis of cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Typically, interpersonal skills are assessed by interview, though relatively few applicants make it to interview. Thus, an efficient paper and pencil test of non-cognitive skills is needed. One possibility is personality tests. Tests of the five…

Data from 2 studies show students differ in terms of how attribute framing alters perceptions and reactions in a decision-making episode. Using student GPA as a moderator, results from a role-play-decision-making exercise (Experiment 1) show perceptions and intended actions of higher GPA students were more strongly affected by attribute framing…

Low-income students are at particular risk of not persisting to earn a certificate or degree, often because of competing priorities, financial pressures, and inadequate preparation for college. One form of financial assistance designed explicitly to reward students' academic success is a performance-based scholarship, paid contingent on attaining…

Austin Independent School District (AISD) student outcomes on attendance, discipline, Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, and GPA were compared between students who participated and students who did not participate in Afterschool Centers on Education programs at AISD campuses during the 2010-2011 school year.

Programs linking college aid to academic achievement could work either by lowering the cost of college or by inducing additional student effort. I examine the PROMISE program in West Virginia, which offers free tuition to students who maintain a minimum GPA and course load. Using administrative data, I exploit discontinuities in the eligibility…

For many years, it has been a common practice to recognize students with high potential by according them targeted privileges and opportunities. This includes the practice of allowing students to accelerate their high school programme and, in the case of New Zealand students, to take university courses during their final school years. This work…

We evaluate the effects of academic achievement awards for first and second-year college students on a Canadian commuter campus. The award scheme offered linear cash incentives for course grades above 70. Awards were paid every term. Program participants also had access to peer advising by upperclassmen. Program engagement appears to have been…

Much of the research on adolescent friendships and school achievement has focused on in-school friends, ignoring the potential effects of having out-of-school friendships. The goal of this study was to examine the relation between having relatively more in-school friends and school achievement among a sample of over 600 12th grade students from…

Many studies have reported that business students have been more apt to act in self-interested ways when compared to their counterparts in other academic fields. Beginning with the premise that ethical behavior derives in part from personality characteristics, the authors tested whether (a) measures of an empathetic or narcissistic personality…

This paper describes research on the use of journals in a general education chemistry course for elementary education majors. In the journals, students describe their understanding of a topic, the development of that understanding, and how the topic connects to their lives. In the process, they are able to engage in reflection about several…

The mathematics placement process at the University of Northern Colorado includes brief faculty-student interviews, during which faculty members suggest mathematics courses for students in their first year at the university. Data from a sample of 1466 students admitted in the fall of 2007 were analyzed to assess the effectiveness of the placement…

This study tested whether social adjustment added to the prediction of academic outcomes above and beyond prior academic functioning. Researchers collected school records and peer-, teacher-, and self-report measures for 1,255 third-grade children in the fall and spring of the school year. Measures of social adjustment included social acceptance…