The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

In 2004, the Lumina Foundation for Education approved a generous grant to support validation research to explore and document the validity of the Community College Student Report (CCSR), add to the higher education field's understanding of student engagement, and help to identify research or institutional practices that require further attention.…

This study analyzed student characteristics that impact persistence among first-year students attending a large, metropolitan community college. The Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshmen Survey was administered to first-time students during orientation. Factor analysis was used to classify students' personality and behavioral…

School psychologists are generally not provided with the knowledge and skills to address both educational and psychosocial issues of Asian American and Pacific Islander students. The present study is the first of its kind in examining 36 independent (i.e., demographic, social, cultural, psychological) variables in association with four school…

This study of 570 (309 men and 261 women aged 16 to 60 years) undergraduate students in a small, regionally accredited, Southern church-related college was conducted to determine whether or not the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is a valid predictor of academic success for students who entered college late in life (after age 30 years). Data…

In winter 1995, Schoolcraft College, in Michigan, conducted a study to determine reasons why fall 1994 students withdrew from classes. Telephone interviews were conducted with 100 students who withdrew from at least one course and data on student characteristics were collected from student transcripts. Study results included the following: (1) the…

Though many would like to see a de-emphasis on grades in American higher education, three major reasons prevent this: student motivation, student perception, and the nature of American society. Students need extrinsic motivation and grades are the most effective of all student motivational tools. In addition, as evaluation is always oriented…

A longitudinal study evaluated whether early remediation affected the persistence and/or performance of underprepared students at a midwestern, suburban community college. The study focused on the 3,282 students who completed the basic skills inventory in either Fall 1991 or Fall 1992. Students were classified as either prepared (N=2,028) or…

This report describes a program for improving motivation of eighth grade students. Attendance, grades, discipline referrals, and student surveys were used in measuring changes in student attitudes. Problems were documented from data showing grades, attendance, and discipline referrals from the second semester of the 1994-95 school year. A student…

This study examined voluntary and involuntary withdrawal rates of students of various racial origins at York University in Ontario (Canada). Data were obtained from three surveys of first-year students conducted in 1993, 1994, and 1995, and involving 1,864 students. Information on Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) marks, first year grade point…

This study, one of several examining a decline in the predictive validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and high school grades between 1975 and 1988, asks whether the criterion, freshman grade point average (FGPA), has changed. College Board tests usually thought of as predictors were used as proxies for the concurrent academic…

This study examined the effects of participation in Chapter 1 programs on students' educational outcomes. A total of 52 students at an elementary school in Maquoketa, Iowa, were divided into a primary group of students who participated in a Chapter 1 program during grades 1 or 2; an intermediate group of students who participated in a Chapter 1…

This study assessed whether or not the American College Test (ACT) is a good predictor of college success for students at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights (Illinois) for students entering as freshmen in the fall semesters of 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991. The total population of 477 included 188 males and 289 females. ACT scores, high…

A study was conducted of 1991 graduates of Sinclair Community College (SCC) in Ohio to determine how many graduates had subsequently attended four-year institutions, how well these students had performed at the senior institutions, and the extent to which students believed their experiences at SCC had prepared them for their baccalaureate…

As part of the baseline studies necessary for a new strategic plan for the Saginaw (Michigan) public schools, the relationship of grade point averages (GPAs), student absence, and Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) results were studied relative to the amount of shared variation common to each. All possible correlations were studied at…