Top college admissions criteria include strength of curriculum and outstanding grades throughout high school, strong standardized test scores, and information gleaned from the personal application form about cocurricular activities and community service. Teacher recommendations and personal interviews are not as predictive as personal…

A Florida community college dean deplores the dual standard for dual-enrollment classes. Nongrading parents commonly assign their kids a 4.0 GPA to meet enrollment qualifications. Although some states require standardized testing for home-schoolers, others lack guidelines for evaluating home-education programs. This attitude must change. (MLH)

Using data on individuals taking principles of economics courses in large lecture rooms, the authors investigate whether a student's seating preference is related to success in the classroom. They find that individuals who prefer to sit near the front of the room have a higher probability of receiving As, whereas those who prefer the back have a…

A longitudinal model of parent academic involvement, behavioral problems, achievement, and aspirations was examined for 463 adolescents, followed from 7th (approximately 12 years old) through 11th (approximately 16 years old) grades. Parent academic involvement in 7th grade was negatively related to 8th-grade behavioral problems and positively…

The study reported here concerns the development and predictive validation of an instrument to assess the achievement outcomes of DE/online learning success. A 38-item questionnaire was developed and administered to 167 students who were about to embark on an online course. Factor analysis indicated a four-factor solution, interpreted as "general…

An empirical test of Munson and Rubenstein's (1992) assertion that 'school is work' compared a sample of students in a high school with a sample of workers in a manufacturing plant in the same metropolitan area. Data from both samples included scores on six personality traits--Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Openness, Emotional Stability,…

This investigation compares applied technology skill levels of high school students enrolled in various applied and comparable traditional courses, particularly Principles of Technology and physics courses respectively. Outcomes from ACT's Applied Technology Work Keys[R] assessment test were used as a measure of applied technology skill levels.…

Using administrative data from the University of California at San Diego, the author explicitly identifies and studies students admitted under affirmative action programs. On average, these students earned grade point averages (GPAs) 0.30 points lower than those of nonaffirmative students. The difference in graduation rates is larger, with 57% of…

This study was part of a program evaluation that examined academic performance and retention differences between first-term students who completed a subject-based first-year experience (FYE) course (n = 381) and comparable first-term students (n = 332) who did not enroll in an FYE course. Actual grade point averages and re-enrollment rates across…

There has been much high-blown rhetoric lately about the problem of grade inflation in American higher education. All across American campuses, deans and college presidents lament the problem. Such attention, though, focuses mostly on outlining the extent of the problem rather than offering concrete strategies for alleviating it. In most cases,…

Significant progress has been made over the past four decades in enrolling more students from historically underrepresented groups in U.S. colleges and universities. While total enrollment increased by about 40% overall, minority student enrollment increased by 146%, with Hispanic undergraduate enrollment greatly outpacing other racial/ethnic…

The first-year performance of freshmen between 1987 and 1992 was investigated for evidence of grade inflation. Grade inflation is defined as "when a grade is viewed as being less rigorous than it ought to be". Performance data were analyzed for fall semester admissions of full-time, first-time freshmen at the University of Missouri…

Although much speculation has been devoted to concerns over the existence and degree of grade inflation at the high school level, there exists a lack of current empirical data documenting the extent, if it exists, of this phenomenon. This study was designed to investigate evidence of the existence, persistence, and degree of grade inflation by…

A study was conducted to assess the academic performance of San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCD) students after transfer to a University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) campus; to compare study results with previous research on College of San Mateo transfer students; and to determine the variables most…

The fourth part of a 1977-78 comprehensive study of the individualized baccalaureate degree program of the General College of the University of Minnesota is reported. Using transcripts and other records, students' progress prior to and after admission to the program was studied, and the kinds and amounts of credit granted by the college were…