This dissertation investigates the impact of limited technology access, the quality of remote learning experiences, and racial disparities on SAT math scores among 11th-grade students. The study spans two academic years, 2018/2019 and 2022/2023, offering a longitudinal perspective on the trends in math scores. The research employs a quantitative…

The SAT has long been used to assess students' readiness for college and to create competitiveness in college admissions. However, it has become a topic of controversy as stakeholders and researchers question its necessity, value, and validity especially where it concerns equitable access to post-secondary opportunities for underrepresented…

This study was guided by the question, how do we understand the multiplicative reasoning of upper high school students and use that to give insight to their performance on a standardized test? After administering a partial ACT assessment to a class of high school students, we identified students to make comparisons between low and high scoring…

The PreACT® suite of assessments (PreACT® 8/9, PreACT®, and PreACT® Secure™) can be used to monitor students' progress toward college and career readiness. Scores are classified into one of three readiness levels based on chances of meeting the ACT College Readiness Benchmark. This data byte presents the updated score ranges for each readiness…

Social and emotional skills, such as Sustaining Effort and Maintaining Composure, are related to many positive outcomes, including academic performance and life satisfaction, and are often taught through social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between these skills and ACT® test…

The problem addressed in this quantitative ex-post facto study was that African American, Latino, and Native American students have lower reading fluency than Caucasian counterparts. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent incorporating more literature written by African American, Latino, and Native American authors had on the…

As college-bound high school seniors know, the ACT examination is possibly the single most important assessment students take during their academic careers. ACT scores can determine college entrance, scholarship dollars, and whether students will be placed in remedial courses. Parents pay large sums of money to prepare their children for this…

A positive school climate is important for students' social and emotional wellness and ability to learn. For example, students with positive relationships with their teachers and who feel safe at school tend to show higher academic performance (Korpershoek et al., 2020). The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship of school…

Arkansas adopted the ACT ASPIRE as their summative assessment in 2015. ACT ASPIRE claimed their assessment results could accurately predict the composite scores on the ACT. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between students' scores on the ACT ASPIRE and the ACT for students in the Star City School District, as well as…

The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to determine if a difference exists in academic achievement between low-SES 11th-grade students enrolled or not enrolled in the performing arts of drama or music study at any time between ninth and 10th-grades in the Clark County School District of southern Nevada in the western United…

Given recent interest and increasing popularity of social and emotional learning (SEL) in education settings, the authors surveyed students taking the ACT test and parents/caregivers of ACT test-takers on their beliefs around social and emotional (SE) skills. The study had three primary goals. First, the authors were interested in obtaining…

The research summarized in this paper examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on student performance on the ACT® test, focusing on students who are Native American. It compares outcomes during the three years preceding the pandemic (2018, 2019, and early 2020) to outcomes in 2021 and 2022 while accounting for changes in the tested population…

We use a natural experiment to evaluate sample selection correction methods' performance. In 2007, Michigan began requiring that all students take a college entrance exam, increasing the exam-taking rate from 64 to 99%. We apply different selection correction methods, using different sets of predictors, to the pre-policy exam score data. We then…

The research summarized in this paper examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on student performance on the ACT[TM] test. The author compares scores during the three years preceding the pandemic (2018, 2019, and early 2020) to scores in 2021 and 2022 while accounting for changes in the tested population across years. For students tested in…

Social and emotional (SE) skills are related to many positive outcomes, including degree attainment, improved academic performance, and increased life satisfaction, and are often taught through social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. A positive school climate is important for students' social and emotional wellness and ability to learn. For…