This qualitative study sought to uncover the contextual factors of the schooling process that affect the enrollment of gifted Spanish speaking English Learners (ELs) in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. In addition, this study investigated the perceptions of gifted Spanish speaking ELs toward AP courses and how these perceptions might affect their…

Individuals respond to threats to affiliation and achievement needs through drawing on a repertoire of coping strategies specific to a given situation. Gifted adolescents in college-preparatory high school programs may be faced with novel stressors, and may have unique coping strategies to manage these challenges. The current study considers…

The 2014 edition of the "Annual Condition of Education Report" marks the 25th anniversary of the report. Much has changed in the passing quarter century since the 1st edition was released in 1990. Most importantly, the "Condition of Education Report" allows the citizens of Iowa to explore trend data and determine what has…

This paper presents the annual report of the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) for 2009. 2009 has been a tremendous year for the NMSI. The team members are working as an agent of change in the U.S. public education system, dramatically improving math and science education for young people. Its AP Training and Incentive Program (APTIP)…

This article reviews history, models, and benefits of credit-based transition programs between high schools and institutions of higher education. The goal of these programs is to enable high school students to take college courses and earn college credit while still in high school, thereby easing the transition to college through a variety of…

In 1989, microeconomics and macroeconomics examinations debuted on the Advanced Placement (AP) scene. At that time, many professors of economics were skeptical that college freshmen had the skills and maturity to understand the concepts in principles of economics courses. They thought teaching these concepts to high school students was even more…

While Advanced Placement (AP) programs have been traditionally targeted toward academically prepared students, some secondary administrators make AP courses accessible to all students in order to support college readiness. The purpose of the present study is to explore how the AP program is being implemented in an urban school where many students…

Our nation, if it is going to keep a competitive edge versus the rest of the world, must reform the current system of educating children. The purpose of this study is to provide evidence that implementation of one increasingly popular reform effort, the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IBPYP), changes teachers' perceptions of…

This paper analyzes the influence of three different learning paradigms for learning literacy--formalist, cognitive-processing, and literacy practices--on the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. It argues that the Common Core State Standards are based largely on a formalist paradigm as evident in the emphasis on teaching text…

Maryland public high school students outperformed all others in the nation on the rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) exams, according to the College Board's fifth annual analysis of the AP program. Maryland ranked first nationwide in the percentage of public school students scoring 3 or higher on at least one AP exam. A score of 3 or higher on the…

This paper reports on a study of students choosing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma over state-based curricula in Australian schools. The IB Diploma was initially designed as a matriculation certificate to facilitate international mobility. While first envisaged as a lifestyle agenda for cultural elites, such mobility is now widespread…

In Australia there is growing interest in a national curriculum to replace the variety of matriculation credentials managed by State Education departments, ostensibly to address increasing population mobility. Meanwhile, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is attracting increasing interest and enrolments in State and private schools in Australia,…

Presented at the quarterly meeting of the New York Area SAS Users-Group in December 2008. In virtually any research context, there is likely to be opportunity to apply mixed-models--of which repeated-measures, multilevel, hierarchical and random- and fixed-effect models are specific types-- that improve upon their traditional linear or generalized…

The International Baccalaureate may sound like it involves some sort of foreign exchange and a college graduation ceremony, but the IB is actually a comprehensive, demanding, and increasingly popular diploma program for high school juniors and seniors, with a strong academic focus on the world around them. While the IB was created 40 years ago by…

Too often students perceive history as boring with no relevance to their lives. Although students describe history as boring, this does not seem to be the case with one aspect of social studies education--Holocaust studies. Courses about the Holocaust have grown in number in recent years; and classes are routinely full. Why do students choose to…