In this qualitative study, we investigated 15 successful and 15 struggling high school students, perceived stressors, coping strategies, and intrapersonal and environmental factors that students perceive to influence their success in college-level courses. We found that students' primary sources of stress involved meeting numerous academic demands…

Business leaders in Florida cannot find the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent they need to stay competitive. Students' lagging performance in K-12 is a critical reason why. The good news is that the nation's most effective STEM education programs can help turn the tide. Students in Florida have made some progress in…

There is ample discussion in academic and policy circles, as well as amongst the general public, about the ways in which classroom instructors can provide more engaging learning experiences for students. This research examines the ways in which students engage participating in classroom simulations as it pertains to the assigned learning outcomes…

In this study, we compare SpringBoard® (SB) schools that had continuously used the SB English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum for at least three years with comparable non-SB schools. For high schools, the outcomes examined were school-level AP® participation and performance for a) all AP subjects, b) ELA and social science AP subjects, and c) ELA…

The purpose of the research was to compare student performance on Advanced Placement (AP) exams from 2009 to 2011 at Florida Virtual School and to explore student perceptions of their online course experience compared with the classroom-based AP experiences. The data indicated that students performed at levels comparable to the national sample but…

This paper considers why the International Baccalaureate--a prestigious international education program--is currently being incorporated into magnet schools in the United States. Since the mid-1980s, when school choice policy took root the number of magnet schools climbed and a growing number of them incorporated the International Baccalaureate…

Florida has experienced some of the greatest growth of Advanced Placement (AP) programs in recent years and student scores on the AP exams have evolved into a highly significant metric in evaluating student proficiency and teacher and school effectiveness. Despite this growth, it is not well known how AP teachers make decisions about the content…

This study examines the relationship between high school efforts at post-secondary preparation for college bound students and the expectations of college and university admissions personnel. The Advanced Placement (AP) teachers and administrators at a rural Northwest Florida high school were administered a quantitative survey in order to collect…

High school students in accelerated curricula face stressors beyond typical adolescent developmental challenges. The Student Rating of Environmental Stressors Scale (StRESS) is a self-report measure of environmental stressors appropriate for students in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. We developed the StRESS…

High school students in accelerated curricula face stressors beyond typical adolescent developmental challenges. The Student Rating of Environmental Stressors Scale (StRESS) is a self-report measure of environmental stressors appropriate for students in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. We developed the StRESS…

With the goal of increasing students' academic readiness for college, high schools in the United States are increasingly offering "credit-based transition programs," including International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), and dual enrollment. Existing research points to the promise of IB, AP, and other credit-based…

This study examined the relationship of tech prep and dual credit to college readiness in reading, writing, and math and retention, measured as total college-level credit hours earned. A sample of 612 high school graduates who enrolled in a community college in two consortia, one in Florida (<i>n</i> = 339) and the other in Oregon…

This article focuses on the research being conducted by Cambridge International Examinations (Cambridge) to ensure that its international assessments prepare students as well as other acceleration programs for continued study in U.S. colleges and universities. The study, which builds on previous freshman GPA data modeling work using data supplied…

As a critical step in understanding the impacts of IB, the analyses presented in this report examined the selection mechanisms behind IB participation across Florida, the state with the second highest representation of IB programs in the nation. We use longitudinal student and school-level data from 1995 through 2009 from the Florida K-20…

This Research Brief summarizes the performance of M-DCPS students participating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) programs. Outcome data are provided for the eight M-DCPS schools offering the two programs and corresponding examinations. Participation in international…