Placement into preparatory courses presents a significant challenge related to access and equity in higher education; it connects to conversations around college readiness, particularly in geographical areas that have been underserved, or which have larger minority populations and underprepared students. At the same time, the research points to…

Using student-level data, we analyze the post-secondary enrollment of high school graduates across 29 states from an online charter provider from 2017 to 2020. We estimate the association between virtual charter student characteristics and the likelihood of college enrollment. We find that students who enroll multiple years in the virtual school…

Assembly Bill (AB) 1705 seeks to improve California community college students' progress in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs. The law ensures that students begin math in the course that best positions them to complete their calculus requirement. A college has this obligation to all STEM students, regardless of their…

Immersive scheduling engages students in one or two subjects at a time over short teaching periods. While there is incipient evidence that immersive delivery can heighten academic outcomes in undergraduate education, much less is known about its effectiveness in pathways or access programs. This exploratory mixed-methods study investigated how a…

This brief examines the experiences of California high school seniors from the graduating class of 2023, offering insights into their preparation, plans, and concerns for college prior to enrollment. Drawing on results from a large-scale survey of seniors, the findings reveal important variation in students' secondary school experiences and their…

The Advanced Placement (AP) program is widely offered in American high schools and has been touted as a way to close racial and socioeconomic gaps in educational outcomes. Using administrative data from Michigan, I exploit variation within high schools across time in AP course offerings to identify the relationship between AP course availability,…

Assembly Bill (AB) 1705 requires community colleges to ensure that students pursuing calculus-based programs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) begin math in the course that best positions them to complete their calculus requirement. According to the law, a college has this obligation for all STEM students, regardless of their…

The National Rural Education Association's (NREA) "2016-2021 10 Research Priorities" include college enrollment and preparation as well as experiences and persistence patterns for rural populations. Recent years witnessed increases in educational research, practice, and policy, around rural college students, yet these efforts focus…

This study focuses on the disparities between the educational aspirations and expectations of high school students in the U.S., and explores why students do not expect to earn a bachelor's degree despite their aspirations. Using a national dataset and logistic/multinomial logistic regression analyses, the study identified the factors associated…

Only a quarter of full-time U.S. students complete their desired goal from community college attendance, with the rate of success even lower for Latinx students. This panel-data regression study looks for evidence regarding the expected influence of increasing the presence of Latinx faculty or administrators on cohort completion rates for all…

This study examined phenomenal gender and racial representation disparities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields -- specifically, a convergent parallel mixed study of the factors contributing to the underrepresentation of women and minorities. The research participants totaled 657 and included college students…

This longitudinal study of 17,455 students, the majority from underrepresented groups, investigated leaks in the vertical transfer pipeline from associate's-degree program entry to bachelor's-degree receipt. Investigated were both the size of the leaks and some associated variables. Pipeline progress examinations included quantification of early…

Most college readiness reforms in high school focus on academic preparation for college, while underprepared students who do not intend to enroll in college are often left underserved. Using a unique source of data from essays written by students, we examine the role that high schools play in supporting students who test below college-ready in…

In this article, we outline the process undertaken to establish and evaluate a mathematics centre at the Ravensburg-Weingarten University of Applied Sciences. Firstly, we outline some of the current research into centre evaluation. Secondly, we give a brief overview of our centre, including details on staffing, teaching format, goals, etc.…

The Advanced Placement (AP) program is widely offered in American high schools and has been touted as a way to close racial and socioeconomic gaps in educational outcomes. Using administrative data from Michigan, I exploit variation within high schools across time in AP course offerings to identify the relationship between AP course availability,…