To evaluate how Advanced Placement (AP) courses affect college-going, we randomly assigned the offer of enrollment into an AP science course to over 1,800 students in twenty-three schools that had not previously offered the course. We find no AP course effects on students' college entrance exam scores (SAT/ACT). As expected, AP course-takers are…

This study examined the contributions of students' noncognitive characteristics toward explaining performance on the ACT® test, over and above traditional predictors such as high school grade point average (HSGPA), coursework taken, and school characteristics. The sample consisted of 6,440 high school seniors from 4,541 schools who took the ACT in…

The authors examine the factors that influence the college choice process of two-year college students and explore the effect these variables have on the two-year/four-year college choice dichotomy, using the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) of 1995-96 and the Beginning Postsecondary (BPS) component of that survey. This study…

Melissa Roderick, Jenny Nagaoka, and Vanessa Coca focus on the importance of improving college access and readiness for low-income and minority students in urban high schools. They stress the aspirations-attainment gap: although the college aspirations of all U.S. high school students, regardless of race, ethnicity, and family income, have…

The fourteen tables in this report give a broad picture of Connecticut's college-bound high school seniors in the class of 1984. Data is presented on student characteristics, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and other test scores, high school records, and college plans. For the purpose of comparison, each table contains statistics from previous…

Since 2002, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) has been studying state high school exit examinations--tests that students must pass to receive a high school diploma. Each year, a national report has been published with findings about the 26 states that have or will soon implement exit exams. In addition, occasional reports have been published…

Students in New Mexico may take either the American College Test Assessment (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), although the ACT is most often used in New Mexico. Results from both examinations are presented in this report, based on those students who were expected to graduate in 1993 and who had expressed an interest in attending…

Nineteen tables are presented, together with a brief discussion, showing the results of the College Entrance Examination Board's 1978 Admissions Testing Program, including Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), achievement tests, and Test of Standard Written English (TSWE) score distributions, and results of the Student Descriptive Questionnaire. A…

A sample of 725 out of 3,241 incoming freshmen to the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) were administered the University New Student Census (UNSC) to determine a group profile for 1990. A selection of basic statistics included the following: (1) 53% of the incoming freshmen were male, and 71% were white; (2) approximately 20% had an A or…

The results of administration of the Washington Pre-College Test (WPCT) to a statewide sample of eleventh-grade public high school students during March of 1985 are reported. In addition to the test results, supporting information is reported on the students, including grades, credits earned, courses taken, academic and career interests, and…

Previous research with the large, nationally representative High School and Beyond data has compared senior year achievement test scores for public and Catholic high school students after controlling for background variables and sophomore year test scores. These analyses, however, were based on traditional applications of multiple regression with…

Students in New Mexico may take either the American College Test Assessment (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), although New Mexico students usually take the ACT. Results from both examinations are presented in this report, based on seniors expected to graduate. Overall, New Mexico and national composite scores have remained steady on the…

Profiles African-American students scoring above 600 on mathematics and verbal Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) sections. The following were examined for 334 students in 1981, 465 in 1985, and 695 in 1988: (1) students' academic experiences; (2) family backgrounds; (3) goals and expectations; and (4) anticipated needs in college. (SLD)

Data from the 1980 High School and Beyond (HSB) study are used to examine the variables associated with the grades that college-bound high school sophomores received in English, algebra, and geometry courses. Special concerns included determining if gender differences in high school grades could be explained, and how teachers' perceptions of…

Factors that account for variance between groups of Mississippi students in their choice of college types were studied using data from the 1991 American College Testing (ACT) Program. The objectives of this study were to describe Mississippi students who plan to attend community or junior colleges and who took the spring 1991 ACT Assessment…