As online education has exploded in the past decade, the number of physics and physics-related massive open online courses (or MOOCs, to use the industry lingo) has grown substantially as well. Several such courses aim at high school students, especially those involved in the AP Physics program. One of us (BK) was involved in creating two such…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between career maturity and career decision-making self-efficacy and selected demographic characteristics. The study utilized three instruments for data collection: the Career Maturity Inventory (CMI-R), the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Short-Form (CDSE-SF) and a demographic…

World history has become increasingly important and often a required course for students in the United States. This case study provided detailed descriptions of International Baccalaureate History students' display of historical understandings, academic humility, and global citizenship. Findings of this study have implications for pedagogical and…

This paper uses part of the data from a larger qualitative inquiry in two International Baccalaureate schools, one in Australia and one in an Indian Ocean Island Nation (a pseudonym), to identify the factors and forces that contribute to the sense of self and understanding of and engagement with the notion of international mindedness in two 'third…

African American students have been systematically discouraged from taking advanced courses in science and math. In addition, low Advanced Placement (AP) exam passing rates among African American students raise further concerns regarding whether accessibility alone adequately addresses the issue of equity. However, little research has been…

This article documents the patterns of White-Black and White-Hispanic enrollment gaps in Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment (DE) programs across thousands of school districts in the United States by merging several data sources. We show that the vast majority of districts have racial enrollment gaps in both programs, with wider gaps in AP…

The National Math + Science Initiative (NMSI) is a nonprofit organization committed to improving educational outcomes that traces its roots back to the early 1990s. NMSI's College Readiness Program (CRP) is a long-standing program with the goal of promoting STEM education in high schools to improve students' preparation for college. The three-year…

This study examined participation in accelerated college credit programs dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and Advanced Placement courses in Rhode Island high schools to understand their effects on educational attainment in the 2013/14 grade 9 cohort. The state, which has funded and promoted these opportunities for students to earn college…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings where the Rhode Island Department of Education, the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, and state legislators sought evidence of the effects of state-funded programs for students to earn college credit during high school. Using data on the 2013/14 statewide grade 9 cohort, this…

The "The Effects of Accelerated College Credit Programs on Educational Attainment in Rhode Island" study examined participation in accelerated college credit programs dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and Advanced Placement courses in Rhode Island high schools to understand their effects on educational attainment in the 2013/14…

Public education reformers have created a widespread expectation of school choice among school consumers. School leaders adopt rigorous academic programs, like the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) and Career Programme (CP), to improve their market position in the competitive landscape. While ample research has investigated…

A key issue for admissions teams is to distinguish which students of those who apply are truly able and sufficiently committed to complete a degree. One signal of a student's ability to achieve college-level academic requirements is participation in high school acceleration programs such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or…

This study aims to examine the representation of African American males in AP, honors, and gifted courses in secondary education. The current investigation represents a causal-comparative investigation of 2017-2020 school district data from a large metropolitan school district regarding the number of African American males selected for inclusion…

In the past few years, there has been a surge of interest in expanding the scope of high schools. Shifting away from an earlier era that focused primarily on graduation rates and achievement tests, states have built a range of college- and career-readiness measures to track things like whether students are taking and passing advanced courses,…

Dual enrollment programs, which allow high school students to earn postsecondary credits through partnerships between secondary and postsecondary institutions, are one of several approaches to enabling students to earn postsecondary credit while in high school. These programs provide high-achieving students with access to more rigorous coursework,…