In recent years, there has been heightened awareness of the importance of early childhood education and high school as intervention points in the educational lives of America's children. Less attention has been paid to the importance of the upper elementary grades and middle school and the role they must play in the preparation of students for…

This report shows how well educators across the United States have increased access to the types of rich academic experiences that prepare students for success in college. By combining national, state and AP (Advanced Placement) data, this report provides educators and policymakers with information they can use to celebrate their successes,…

This booklet is intended to help students do their best on the ACT. It summarizes general test-taking strategies, describes the content of each test, provides specific tips for each, and lets students know what they can expect on test day. Included in this booklet are complete practice tests--"retired" ACT questions that were administered to…

AP Potential™ is a data-driven tool offered by the College Board that uses scores from the PSAT/NMSQT® to identify students who have the potential to succeed in Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) courses (College Board, 2007). Research showing a moderate-to-strong correlation between PSAT/NMSQT scores and AP Exam scores serves as the basis for this…

This report describes the results of two studies designed to evaluate the impact of self-reported mathematics course-taking on performance on SAT mathematics questions measuring new content (Algebra II). A supplemental table and figure are appended.

This study describes an example of design-based research in which we make theoretical improvements in our understanding, in part based on empirical work, and use these to revise our curriculum and, simultaneously, our evolving theory of the relations between contexts and disciplinary formalisms. Prior to this study, we completed a first cycle of…

Through 2 related studies, we investigated the relation between ethnic identity, epistemological development, and achievement among students of color. Findings suggest that the three variables are related, with ethnic identity and epistemological development together contributing to explaining variance in college GPA almost as well as a…

One of the goals in the Commission's Performance Assessment Framework for higher education is that all high school students in California receive an education that gives them the opportunity to enter a college or university. There are many possible measures that could be used to gauge preparation for higher education. These include SAT scores,…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between participation in the Summer Bridge Program, grade point averages and retention of first-year college students. Additionally, this study examined the differences in grade point averages of college students after their first semester and first-year of college with regard to their…

This study used the National Educational Longitudinal Study: 88 /2000 (NELS 88: /2000) dataset to explore characteristics associated with college degree attainment. The study was informed by Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. The sample size was 6,832 postsecondary students. The findings revealed that developmental math students were less…

Many school districts are putting data to good use, although much of the data used in administrative decision making ultimately derives from standardized test scores, which raises a host of other related concerns. The author's purpose in this article is not to critique the types or sources of data that administrators use, but to suggest that there…

The purpose of this report is to document the participation and performance trends over time for students with disabilities, progressing from school year 2001-02, a base year for determining AYP goals under NCLB, through school year 2004-05, the third year that states reported after the NCLB baseline year (VanGetson & Thurlow, 2007). Within…

The ability of high school grades (grade point average) and SAT® scores to predict cumulative grades in different types of college courses was evaluated in a sample of 26 colleges. Appended are: (1) Sample Sizes, Means, and Standard Deviations for Subgroups Defined by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Course Type; and (2) Prediction of Cumulative GPA by…

For students with disabilities, a big factor in their successful transition from high school to postsecondary education is accurate knowledge about their civil rights. The purpose of this guide is to provide high school educators with answers to questions students with disabilities may have as they get ready to move to the postsecondary education…

When standardized English-language tests are administered to test takers worldwide, the test-taking population could be varied on a number of personal and educational characteristics such as age, gender, first language, and academic discipline. As test tasks and test items may not always be prepared keeping this diversity of characteristics in…