This study examines differences in educational experiences and outcomes for high school (HS) students who participated in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program and earned full diplomas compared to those who participated in the IB Diploma Program but did not earn the diploma. ACT scores, after-HS placement, and HS graduation rates of…

To evaluate how Advanced Placement (AP) courses affect college-going, we randomly assigned the offer of enrollment into an AP science course to over 1,800 students in twenty-three schools that had not previously offered the course. We find no AP course effects on students' college entrance exam scores (SAT/ACT). As expected, AP course-takers are…

This fifth of six briefs exploring data from the 2020-2021 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) data, released earlier this year, explores the access of students with disabilities to the educational opportunities that make college possible for most students: SAT and ACT testing, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB)…

Many schools, districts, and states administer the PreACT® and/or the ACT® test to measure readiness for college and careers. A recent study suggests that these test scores can also be used to help identify students who are academically prepared and may benefit from some of the more rigorous courses offered in high schools across the nation,…

Rural Mississippi schools often face challenges in providing equitable access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses, particularly in STEM fields. This lack of access limits opportunities for high-achieving students to pursue rigorous STEM coursework and related careers. The AP STEM program aims to improve access to AP STEM courses for high-achieving…

The purpose of this study was to analyze and determine the predictive power of individual and a combination of different indicators that are used to determine college readiness. For this study a logistic regression analysis was conducted due to the dichotomous nature of the dependent variable. The dependent variable for the study was the earning…

Test-optional and test-blind admissions policies accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic would appear to imperil College Board's SAT college-entrance exam, the rival ACT, and their respective parent organizations. This state of affairs follows years of complaints that the exams favor the affluent. And, in fact, both of the notoriously secretive…

In US-based postsecondary education, first-year students commonly have their compositional ability consequentially assessed on the basis of standardized tests. As a result, students who score above certain thresholds on ACT, SAT, or AP exams often are placed into honors or remedial courses; receive credit remissions; and/or test out of general…

We examined how ACT® Aspire® (from grades 8 to 10), PreACT® (from grade 10), and ACT® test scores (from grades 10 and 11) relate to students' chances of scoring a 3 or higher as well as 4 or higher on selected Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Data for the study was available for 49,220 students from 318 high schools who had taken at least one AP…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page sheets on a variety of subjects. The topics for this report on College and Career Readiness of English learners include: (1) Percentage Distribution of High School Students Participating in the SAT or ACT Exams by English Learner…

High school students' academic preparation (e.g. high school GPA, ACT composite score, AP credits earned) predicts and helps explain their academic performance at college. However, the effects of noncognitive factors on college success is less clear. This study examined the effects of adding high school students' (N = 2279) self-efficacy,…

The purpose of this study is to investigate how high school academic and non-academic factors are related to college readiness and performance in freshman-level mathematics and science courses and retention in STEM fields. High school academic indicators for college readiness will include performance in high school science and mathematics courses,…

The century-old College Entrance Examination Board (College Board) sponsors, develops, and administers standardized testing programs, most famously the "SAT suite of tests," which includes the SAT college admission test and the "pre-SAT," or PSAT, and the more than thirty Advanced- Placement (AP) courses and exams that…

Using the National Center for Education Statistics 2002-2012 Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS) data set, this study examines the relation between college undermatching and bachelor's degree attainment, and whether the influences of undermatching on bachelor's degree attainment vary by race/ethnicity. Results revealed students who undermatched…

The adoption of telepresence technology in K-12 schools potentially expands students' access to course offerings and new ways of learning, but little is known about its implementation and promise for improving student outcomes. We employ a mixed-methods analysis to examine the experiences of students and teachers in telepresence courses in a…