This study examines whether participating in competitive policy debate influences high school completion, academic achievement, and college readiness for African American male students. The analysis examines data from the Chicago Debate League from 1997 to 2006. Debate participants were 70% more likely to graduate and three times less likely to…

This paper applies a standard treatment effects model to determine that participation in Freshman Learning Communities improves academic performance and retention. Not controlling for individual self-selection into Freshman Learning Communities participation leads one to incorrectly conclude that the impact is the same across race and gender…

This article reports the findings of a new study conducted by the two researchers at Princeton University, Douglas S. Massey and Margarita Mooney. The study was based on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, which covers about 3,900 students who entered 28 public and private selective colleges in the fall of 1999. The study found…

In an attempt to gauge the effectiveness of their information literacy program, librarians at Stephen F. Austin State University began comparing average course grades in course sections that receive IL instruction to grades in sections that do not. The results varied, revealing no clear benefit to information literacy instruction. We discuss…

The study examined the relationship between the big-five model of personality and the use of self-regulated learning strategies. Measures of self-regulated learning strategies and big-five personality traits were administered to a sample of undergraduate students. Results from canonical correlation analysis indicated an overlap between the…

Honors and advanced placement (AP) courses are commonly viewed as more demanding than standard high school offerings. Schools employ a range of methods to account for such differences when calculating grade point average and the associated rank in class for graduating students. In turn, these statistics have a sizeable impact on college admission…

Admissions committees and researchers around the globe have used diligence and imagination to develop and implement various screening measures with the ultimate goal of predicting future clinical and professional performance. What works for predicting future job performance in the human resources world and in most of the academic world may not,…

The present study reports on the effectiveness at one-year follow-up of an after-school prevention program targeting 6th grade African American youth residing in high-risk urban areas. The program, conducted on-site over the school-year period, involved a group mentoring approach emphasizing remedial education and an appreciation of African…

Melissa Roderick, Jenny Nagaoka, and Vanessa Coca focus on the importance of improving college access and readiness for low-income and minority students in urban high schools. They stress the aspirations-attainment gap: although the college aspirations of all U.S. high school students, regardless of race, ethnicity, and family income, have…

This study examines the impact of fluctuations in entry-level labor market conditions on the graduate school enrollment decisions of newly minted undergraduate degree holders. Using repeated cross-section data for recently graduated science and engineering undergraduates from the National Survey of Recent College Graduates, and state-level…

The Killer Whale, Shamu jumps through hoops and splashes tourists in hopes for the big fish, not because of passion, desire or simply the enjoyment of doing so. What would happen if those fish were obsolete? Would this killer whale be able to find the passion to continue to entertain people? Or would Shamu find other exciting activities to do…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the Bartlett-Kotrlik Inventory of Self-Learning score and demographic variables such as GPA, gender, and grade-level within a Korean university context. The results suggest that GPA is significantly related to self-directedness among college students, and grade-level is another…

The Non-Cognitive Questionnaire (NCQ) is a 23-item measure assessing eight noncognitive variables that are thought to predict the performance and retention of students in college. The NCQ is widely used in research and practice. This study is a meta-analytic review of the validity of scores on the NCQ across 47 independent samples for predicting…

Discussion is one form of active learning, which has been linked to better learner outcomes. Little is known about the relationship between active learning through discussion and learner outcome in the online environment. Here, we construct an index of active learning online that includes the number of postings a student has read, the number of…

We tested the effects of instructional method (lecture vs. mastery) and aptitude (high, medium, low GPA levels) on students' academic performance and achievement motivation goals. Students enrolled in a developmental psychology course received either traditional lecture or mastery (Keller's Personalized System of Instruction [PSI]) instruction.…