This paper summarizes the findings of a ten year study on a Pre-Engineering program aimed at dramatically improving both the recruitment and retention of under-represented students pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at The University of Akron. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate The University of…

To determine how well rural youths were adjusting to modern society, a study on educational and occupational aspirations of male high school seniors from two counties in Southwest Arkansas was begun in 1965 and completed in 1972. A major finding in the first stage was that 70% of the 165 seniors (121 Whites, 44 Blacks) overaspired for their…

The Higher Education -- Students Speak II survey was developed by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) and the Educational Policy Institute to identify the types and breadth of work-based learning activities that four-year college students experienced during high school, and to determine the correlation of these activities on…

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…

In 1989, a study was conducted at Columbia College (CC) in California to determine the effects of CC's "College Success" course (Guidance 7) on student attitudes, performance, and retention; and to determine ways in which the course could be improved. College Success, which focuses on techniques for effective reading, studying, memorizing, test…

In this study 222 urban and rural Hispanic students from Colorado in grades 10 and 12 were classified into the following catagories: (1) dropouts; (2) strugglers, whose attendance levels and grade point averages (GPAs) were below the class median; and (3) achievers, whose GPAs were in the top tertile of their class. The students and their families…

This study, based on cultural stereotypes, seeks to determine the demographic characteristics which differentiate among young people and correlate with their levels of alienation. A preliminary version of an experimental scale, designed to determine the existence and extent of alienation manifested by in-school adolescents, was developed in a…

There is clear evidence that the average grades earned in high school have been going up for some period of time. This study examines the question of whether students of varying backgrounds have experienced similar increases in grade point average (GPA) over a 25-plus-year period. Changes in SAT verbal and mathematical scores for the same gender…

In this paper, factors that influence academic achievement and self-concept of Year 12 students in their final year of schooling at a Catholic co-educational school in Adelaide, Australia were investigated. The study hypothesised there were differences in attitudes and academic performance due to prior schooling experiences, sex, home experiences,…

Data reported in this paper are drawn from The American College Testing Program (ACT) files of student records collected over the five year period from 1970-71 to 1974-75 through administration of the ACT Assessment Program. The data from 1970-71 and 1971-72 represent a five percent random sample and the data from 1972-73, 1973-74, and 1974-75, a…

The Running Start program was created by the 1990 Washington State Legislature to expand educational options for public school students. Running Start allows eleventh and twelfth grade high school students to take college-level courses, tuition-free, at the 32 community and technical colleges in Washington. This annual progress report for 1996-97…

In an effort to develop a marketing plan for the recruitment of students directly from high school, Johnson County Community College (JCCC) conducted a survey in Fall 1978 of 1,947 juniors and seniors at eight county high schools to determine student demographic characteristics, occupational and educational aspirations, college attendance plans,…

Validity data (prediction of first-year grade point average) for colleges participating in the Admissions Testing Program Validity Study Service (VSS) and based on students entering college in 1964 through 1974 are summarized for the following predictors: Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)--verbal score, SAT--mathematical score, high school record,…

Group differences among ethnic and racial groups on a series of educational measures and outcomes are examined. African-American and Hispanic students perform substantially lower than white and Asian students on the SAT I. These substantial differences also exist on a variety of other admissions tests used for undergraduate, graduate, and…

There has been increased interest in emphasizing Achievement Tests, as SAT II: Subject Tests, for use in admission and placement. In this report, data was obtained from a comprehensive database of categorized course grades for a large number and great variety of colleges, with student groups identified. For each student group, the percentage of…