Chronic school absenteeism can lead to poorer academic performance and school engagement for students. It is also a risk factor for school dropout, which is associated with many long-term health impacts. This report uses data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to describe the percentage of children ages 5-17 who experienced…

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders of childhood. It is characterized by a pattern of inattention, impulsivity, or hyperactivity that leads to functional impairment experienced in multiple settings. Symptoms of ADHD occur during childhood, and many children continue to have symptoms and…

Students who suffer from test anxiety go through a stressful and unpleasant experience that could harm their physical and mental health long term. This study examines the prevalence of test anxiety in Malaysia and investigates the association of test anxiety with socio-demographic factors. A cross-sectional survey comprising demographic data and…

Successful mentoring relationships allow mentees to gain the confidence and knowledge they need to reach their goals, but students from populations generally underrepresented in science and health fields have been shown to receive less mentorship than their well-represented peers. In highly competitive processes, like medical school admissions,…

The labor-market payoff to workers with associate degrees in healthcare and STEM occupations is very high in Massachusetts. We examine whether this induced a growing proportion of students in MA community colleges (MACCs) to earn an associate degree (AD) in one of these fields. We do this by using multinomial logit analysis to compare trends…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the demographic characteristics of middle school students on their mathematics performance on the STAAR examination. More specifically, this study examined the effect of the variables gender, ethnicity, and at-risk status, separate and collectively, on the four mathematics components…

Adult numeracy is one of the essential skill sets to navigate through numeric information-rich labour markets in general, and STEM industries in particular. Yet, relatively little is known about how numeracy skills are used in different settings in the USA. This study examined numeracy skill use patterns of STEM and non-STEM workers at work and…

Objective: Transition from school to early adulthood incurs many changes and may be associated with deterioration in general health in youth with autism. We aimed to investigate this. Method: The National Longitudinal Transitions Study-2 is a USA nationally representative sample of youth receiving special education services, aged 13-17 at wave 1,…

The Official ACT® Self-Paced Course, Powered by Kaplan® is a test preparation solution in partnership between Kaplan and ACT. In April of 2022, the authors surveyed users of the self-paced course who took the ACT test between August 2020 and February 2022 to better understand: (1) ways the solution helped them when they took the ACT; (2) what…

Sports team participation has been associated with increased levels of physical activity and improved physical and mental health among children and adolescents. Disparities in sports participation have been found across age, sex, race, disability, and socioeconomic subgroups. This report describes national estimates of parent-reported organized…

Since 2007, the Cowen Institute has conducted annual polls on perceptions of public education in New Orleans. These polls have served to provide insight on how parents, guardians, and the general public feel about the most relevant issues related to New Orleans' highly decentralized K-12 public education system. In previous editions of the poll,…

Adult numeracy is one of the essential skill sets to navigate through numeric information-rich labor markets in general, and STEM industries in particular. Yet, relatively little is known about how numeracy skills are used in different settings in the USA. This study examined numeracy skill use patterns of STEM and non-STEM workers at work and…

It is essential that college students are knowledgeable about their family health history to make informed decisions about health behaviors and cancer screening. In the transitional phase from adolescence to adulthood, engaging in healthy behaviors and communication between family members can be challenging for college students. In this study, the…

This study examined factors associated with students with disabilities (SWDs)' STEM major choice in postsecondary institutions. The major findings included: (1) SWDs with difficulty conversing had a greater likelihood of choosing STEM majors compared with their counterparts without such a difficulty in both two- and four-year institutions; (2)…

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 9-12 hours of sleep for children aged 6-12 years and 8-10 hours for those aged 13-18, yet only two-thirds of children meet these recommendations. This report uses 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data to describe regular bedtimes, defined as going to sleep at the same time most days or…