The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate disproportionality with respect to Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities for students of color, post qualification, for special education services via the label Specific Learning Disability (SLD). Multiple data sources including existing data, surveys, and semi structured interviews were…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of minority students and their families in a school district located in the Mississippi Delta Region as they related to the disparate participation in advanced academic programs by ethnic and racial minority students as compared to their White/Caucasian peers. Working within…

The problem that guided this study was the low proportion of students scoring 3 or more on the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition (APELC) exam at one Department of Defense (DoD) school. Moreover, the qualifying ratios were lower than students attending all DoD and U.S. schools. The need for teachers to examine the performance of…

The gaps in education in America continue to march on at staggering rates. Gaps in academic achievement, college acceptance, standardized test scores, and access to resources continue to marginalize Black students in the United States compared to their white counterparts. Pittsburgh, PA, with the second-largest school district in Pennsylvania and…

Fierce local debates throughout the United States surround the equity of admitting students to public schools using academic criteria. Although research has evaluated the central assumption of these debates--that Selective Enrollment Public (SEP) schools enhance the welfare of students who attend them--none has addressed the district-level…

Teachers and students are being held to higher expectations due to national educational policies. Because of large class sizes, teachers at the case study site have elevated workloads to prepare students for International Baccalaureate (IB) exams. The study aimed to better understand how teachers create feedback for student success. The feedback…

This qualitative study was conducted using six Chicago Public schools that were transformed in to IB Wall-to-Wall schools. The study purpose was two-fold: (a) to examine how the principals' perceptions of their leadership attributes and strategies support the process of school change, and (b) to explore the teachers' perspectives on the leadership…

Rigorous coursework is one of the necessary staples in establishing college readiness. Rural districts are much less likely to offer advanced coursework opportunities to students. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the equitable access to advanced coursework opportunities (Advanced Placement) provided to rural students (in-person…

According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education & The Southern Regional Education Board (2010), there is a disparity between those who are college-eligible, and those who are actually college-ready. In New Jersey, a large percentage of students who graduate from its public schools are inadequately prepared for the…

Students in the United States face an increasingly competitive college admissions process. High school seniors must prove themselves capable of university level work. The standard for evidencing such capacity is through enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Upon completion of the AP course students sit for the corresponding national exam.…

This dissertation is a study about Korean immigrant students' identities, including academic identities related to science learning and identities along various social dimensions. I explore how Korean immigrant students participate in science classrooms and how they enact and negotiate their identities in their classroom discursive…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine advanced coursework completion rates, Advanced Placement (AP)/International Baccalaureate (IB) testing rates, AP/IB exam passage rates, and the percentage of AP/IB exam scores at or above the criterion that may exist among Texas public high school students from 2001 to 2012 to ascertain (a) the…

The purpose of this eleventh grade Advanced Placement (AP) program study was to determine factors associated with AP placement and subsequent student performance. This research was considered to be a mixed methods case study with elements of arrested action research. One hundred and twenty-four students, four guidance counselors, three AP…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of Virginia school divisions' policy of paying the fee for students to take Advanced Placement exams on Advanced Placement course enrollment, the number of Advanced Placement exams taken by students, the average scores earned and the percent of students earning qualifying scores of 3, 4, or 5…

This study investigated how teachers at a national public school recently accredited in an international education program identified the changes in their educational pedagogy that resulted from the accreditation process. In particular, the study examined how the school administration and teachers implemented an international program, the…