Students enter the college application process on unequal footing--with various levels of financial, social, and cultural capital they can rely on to navigate it. At least 10 states and hundreds of colleges and universities have begun "direct admissions" programs, which proactively admit students using data like their GPA and ACT/SAT…

The purpose of this study was (a) to describe the performance of preschool children from families with college-educated mothers on two norm-referenced measures, the Preschool Language Scale-4 (PLS-4) and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Tests-III (PPVT-III), and (b) to compare the findings with Qi and colleagues who reported PLS and PPVT scores for…

Between March and June 2014, more than 1.67 million students from the 2014 graduating class took the SAT, marking a new participation record for the test. At the request of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the College Board created a special report that allows the association to compare how independent school students fared…

Relatively few students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are enrolled in the most selective American colleges and universities. To improve enrollment, scholars have suggested that college admission offices provide these low SES students an admissions advantage, also known as class-based affirmative action. This study examined to what degree…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between receiving Pell Grants and 21st Century Scholarships and early college success among the 2014 cohort of Indiana public high school graduates entering public Indiana colleges in the fall after graduation. Early college success for these students was defined using three measures plus a…

The 2015-2016 school year marks the first administration of the redesigned PSAT, which is composed of two sections: (1) Evidence-based Reading and Writing (EBRW) and (2) Math. This memorandum presents results of 2015-2016 Grade 10 PSAT participation and performance of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students. Among 10,859 MCPS first-time…

The focus of this study is to explore college outcomes for students who come from traditionally lower-income backgrounds, reporting a household income of $30,000 or less, and who were awarded a fee reduction to take one or more Advanced Placement® (AP®) Exams, compared to students with a similar background and ability who did not participate in an…

Background: Dropout from child and adolescent psychotherapy is a common phenomenon which can have negative consequences for the individual later in life. It is therefore important to gain insight on dropout risk factors. Objective: Several potential risk factors [ethnic minority status, a lower socioeconomic status (SES), and higher problem…

New York mayor Bill de Blasio entered office in January 2014, promising to "take dead aim at the Tale of Two Cities … [and] put an end to economic and social inequalities that threaten to unravel the city we love." The Manhattan Institute's "Poverty and Progress in New York" series tracks the effects of Mayor de Blasio's…

This study documents the magnitude of the gaps in student performance for public school students in Pennsylvania and estimates the economic consequences of those education performance gaps. Although Pennsylvania is one of the top-scoring states on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on average, the achievement gaps between…

Across the country and in urban areas in particular, many students change schools during the academic year. While much research documents the impact of changing schools on the academic achievement of mobile students themselves, less research explores whether new arrivals have negative spillovers on stable classmates. The lack of research on…

Many U.S. schools use visible security measures (security cameras, metal detectors, security personnel) in an effort to keep schools safe and promote adolescents' academic success. This study examined how different patterns of visible security utilization were associated with U.S. middle and high school students' academic performance, attendance,…

As the public profile of early childhood education has increased, state education agency staff, policymakers, and researchers are interested in understanding the lasting impacts of quality pre-K. Particularly for states beginning an investment in early childhood education or expanding access to an existing program, it is important to examine the…

How well do U.S. students read? In this article, Sean Reardon, Rachel Valentino, and Kenneth Shores rely on studies using data from national and international literacy assessments to answer this question. In part, the answer depends on the specific literacy skills assessed. The authors show that almost all U.S. students can "read" by…

A recent report by Wyatt and Mattern (2011) compared college outcomes for low-socioeconomic status (low-SES) students who received Advanced Placement® (AP®) fee reductions versus low-SES students who did not participate in the AP Program. The results indicated that AP Fee Reduction students had better college outcomes than students from low-SES…