This study investigated the changing achievement relationships among Black and White students based on ages at entry into first grade. The data indicated that, for both groups, the significantly higher achievement of the oldest students at age 9 disappeared by age 17. (Author/BW)

Background characteristics and future plans of average and above average Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General test takers are described for the various racial and ethnic groups. Characteristics included: (1) percentage of females; (2) undergraduate college major and grades; (3) intended field of graduate study; (4) graduate degree objective;…

This is the first comprehensive study to examine SAT I Math and Verbal test results for the nation's urban schools. This report, prepared in collaboration with The College Board, examines 1998-99 SAT I Math and Verbal test results in 58 Great City Schools (GCS) districts, analyzing test scores on: number of test-takers; race/ethnicity and gender;…

Reports results of a survey of 149 undergraduates (persisters - 73 White, 9 Black) and former undergraduates (nonpersisters - 35 White, 32 Black) indicating how their perceptions of their college environment affected the decision to remain at or leave the Speed Scientific School, University of Louisville. (SK)

Reports on a study of students' preferences for social studies, English, and science courses among 888 secondary students. Finds that seventh graders preferred social studies over science, but this preference weakened substantially as students advanced into high school. Finds that boys preferred social studies over English throughout high school.…

At four colleges, 135 African American women students completed measures of self-concept, gender identity, and ethnic identity, and were interviewed. Results suggest that women's self-concepts of race and gender are experienced differently depending on their school's racial and gender composition. Colleges should reexamine diversity efforts to…

This report is the third retention report published by the Massachusetts Department of Education (MADOE) to provide districts and the public general information on student retention in Massachusetts. Retention is defined as repeating a grade--students are retained when they are required to repeat the grade in which they were enrolled in the…

This ethnography explores teachers' perspectives of the cultural issues affecting academic performance in twelve public high schools in rural Mississippi and Louisiana. From a thematic analysis of the tape-recorded interviews of forty-one mathematics teachers, five categories emerged, each comprising a qualitative aspect of teaching high school in…

Presented at the Advanced Placement Annual Conference (APAC) in Las Vegas, July 2007. This presentation explores the demographic and course-taking patterns that have been identified behind what students take AP exams and how to best reach the population of students that are not currently taking AP exams.

Using data from the same source as that employed in Herrnstein and Murray's book, "The Bell Curve," this study reexamined links between the test scores of mothers and children, paying close attention to what the scores measure and whether these measurements mean the same things for blacks and whites. The study replicated Herrnstein and…

This report presents statistical data in charts, graphs and tables illustrating trends in undergraduate medical school applicants and matriculants over the past decade. It highlights information at the milepost years of 1983, 1987, 1991, and 1992. Major trends are identified in the following areas: (1) the applicant pool (has been increasing since…

The quantitative methods of regression and factor analysis were used to study the equity of educational outcome and the effectiveness of schools in 30 sixth-grade classrooms in western New York State. Equity of educational outcome refers to a situation in which educational achievement is fairly and justly distributed across racial and…

This report explores the student background characteristics that might be associated with success or failure in calculus and evaluates the effectiveness of remedial mathematics education. The sample consisted of two groups at the University of California, Santa Cruz: (1) all students (105) who took first quarter calculus in spring, 1985; and (2)…

Two reports of student nonpersistence at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), are provided, taken from the Maryland Longitudinal Study. The first study, which examined four questions regarding students who become nonpersisters, found the following: nonpersisters had poor high school and first-semester study habits, were apt to have…

This executive summary reports the findings of a study of the mathematics participation and performance of female, Black, and Hispanic students in the Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland), and generalizes its findings to mathematics instruction for all students. Goals of the study were the following: (1) identify at what point in the…