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

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…

With the disruption of the pandemic, it is important to study first-year college students' learning experiences and its potential effect on education plans. To understand first-year college students' learning experiences after the transition to online instruction during the pandemic, in June 2020, the authors of this study reached out to…

While previous research has examined outcomes related to academic rigor, mixed findings have resulted from differing conceptualizations of rigor as well as varying methodological approaches. Defining rigor as those in-class practices and assignments that require students to engage in deep learning and demonstrate cognitive complexity, we use…

This study estimates the effects of a deep approaches to learning scale and its subscales on measures of students' critical thinking, need for cognition, and positive attitudes toward literacy, controlling for pre-college scores for the outcomes and other covariates. Results suggest reflection is critical to making gains across the outcomes.

Self-control has been related to positive student outcomes including academic performance of college students. Because of the critical nature of the first semester academic performance for engineering students in terms of retention and persistence in pursuing an engineering degree, this study investigated the relationship between freshmen…

Using data from the Wabash National Study, authors examine how students' perceptions of campus climate influence growth in students' social and political activism. The goal of this article is to determine to what extent, if any, students' perceptions of the campus environment affect their orientation toward social/political activism over 4 years…

In response to increasing evidence of score declines with no apparent agreement as to meaning or causes, the National Institute of Education (NIE) sponsored a Conference on Declining Test Scores in June of 1975. The objectives of the conference were to (1) clarify the evidence and estimate the extent of test score declines; (2) review evidence for…

The evaluation report examines three ACT demonstration projects (Adolescents in Child Training) in San Antonio, Chicago, and Little Rock designed to involve adolescents in child training through the classroom and actual field experience. Part 1 of the report describes the three projects with respect to their contextual, conceptual, and programatic…

A variety of approaches to student outcomes in higher education are described and an essay on the topic is included in this bulletin. In the essay, "The Campus as a Learning Environment," Douglas Heath suggests the significance of such projects for liberal education in the broadest sense. The following programs are discussed:…