The California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) was developed as the means by which applicants for teaching or service credentials could demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics. Demonstration of proficiency in these skills was required for the issuance of a credential starting February 1, 1983. When examinees registered…

The personal, professional, and postgraduate educational development of graduates of six Michigan postsecondary institutions with programs that allow credit for experiential learning was examined. The two- and four-year programs also included a liberal-studies type curriculum, and experiential learning options included portfolio assessment,…

A retrospective comparative analysis of data collected between 1975 and 1979 was undertaken at Westmoreland County Community College (WCCC) to quantitatively determine the impact of WCCC's developmental education program on: (1) the persistence and academic performance of underprepared students; (2) the college's financial situation; and (3) the…

The College Board formed a research consortium with four-year colleges and universities to build a national higher education database with the primary goal of validating the SAT®, which is used in college admission and consists of three sections: critical reading (SAT-CR), mathematics (SAT-M) and writing (SAT-W). This report builds on a body of…

This report describes a longitudinal evaluation of an on-going 5-year program at the University of Michigan to improve minority student retention and academic performance. The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) creates research partnerships between first- and second-year students and faculty researchers, and provides peer…

This follow-up study, part of the National Study of Student Support Services compared the status of 2,900 disadvantaged students receiving student support services (SSS) since entering college 3 years earlier and 2,900 nonparticipating comparable students. Services offered varied among institutions but were all intended to help students stay in…

Determinants of postsecondary education were examined for high school graduates in 1980 to determine whether minority students achieved good rates of enrollment and attainment; and to assess the relative importance of demographic characteristics, achievement in high school, and students' expectations. Data obtained from the High School and Beyond…

A study focused on 10th-grade students for the 1990-91 school year at Arthur Hill and Saginaw High Schools, Michigan, to examine system-related problems in course selection/scheduling that may decrease student enrollments at the Averill Career Opportunities Center (COC). A random sample consisted of 316 of 472 regular education students at the 2…

During fiscal year 1983, the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at Pan American University (PAU) in Edinburg, Texas, which helps students from low-income migrant families attend college, served 174 freshmen selected from 200 applicants recruited from 25 high schools. CAMP provided each student with a $309 scholarship per semester, and staff…

The Freshman Summer Program and Transfer Summer Program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) are designed to increase the academic achievement, retention, and graduation of underprepared and underrepresented or low-income students. Phase I of the evaluation assessed the extent to which academic and nonacademic goals and objectives…

A 3-year followup evaluation of the Personalized Education Program (PEP) of the General College, University of Minnesota, is presented. The program, which is designed to improve the academic retention and achievement of underprepared, freshman minority students, has served 273 students since the fall 1979 quarter, including 86 American Indians, 72…

A study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) in Palatine, Illinois, to evaluate the effectiveness of a new academic probation intervention program. Probationary students are those who are warned the previous semester but whose grade point averages (GPA's) still fall below 2.0 (4-point scale). Students on probation must participate…

The implementation of a four-day week (Monday-Thursday) for on-campus classes at the College of DuPage, an Illinois community college, was assessed in terms of student registration; class enrollment; student success rates; instructional quality; and savings resulting from driving differences, energy use, and building maintenance. Withdrawal and…

In the second half of a two-part study conducted by the Illinois Community College System, a fall 1990 cohort of first-time freshmen was examined for 6 years to determine the effectiveness of remedial/developmental instruction. Student characteristics of age, ethnicity, and gender for the entire cohort were compared with the cohort group of…

This paper looks at the relationship between the study behavior and academic engagement of individual students, the norms and attitudes of close friends, and the peer culture of school. The authors are particularly interested in how the academic orientation of a student and his or her close friends invites or protects him or her from harassment by…