This paper analyses the role that different components of the academic strength of the secondary-school curriculum (i.e. "number," "subjects" and "grades" of advanced academic courses) play in explaining social origin differences in access to prestigious universities (but also to other higher education institutions)…

To refine selective admission models, we investigate which measure of prior achievement has the best predictive validity for academic success in university. We compare the predictive validity of three core high school subjects to the predictive validity of high school grade point average (GPA) for academic achievement in a liberal arts university…

To make the abstract idea of "college readiness" legible for public purposes, readiness indicators have tended to treat students identically: If a student meets a simple benchmark, he or she is ready for any college. This shorthand ignores that indicators of readiness may differ according to students' backgrounds and where they choose to…

In the 2015-16 school year, 75 percent of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) ninth-graders opted out of their assigned high school. These students could choose from more than 300 programs at 138 public high schools. Selective enrollment high schools (SEHSs) were among the most high-profile and most sought-out options. SEHSs aim to provide high-achieving…

This study investigated differences in college grading practices (first-year grade point average and course grades) by student and institutional characteristics and by academic discipline to inform and improve our understanding and use as among the most commonly employed criteria in validity and college readiness research. In addition, trends in…

Racially separate and unequal schooling is alive and thriving today. School districts are typically segregated by income, with non-White school districts getting 23 billion dollars less than White districts. Higher education is increasingly stratified by both race and class, and children of the wealthy are almost assured that they will attend…

This study examines how Swedish students originating from metropolitan areas have used university colleges to access higher education. In the 1970s, as part of a series of reforms to the Swedish higher education system, university colleges were established. One reason being to make higher education more accessible to students outside the…

In 2014, Jonathan Zimmerman published an op-ed in the "Christian Science Monitor" in which he wrote, "The last time I checked, [men] held most of the important positions of power and influence in American society. And yet, college admissions offices lower the standard for young men--effectively raising it for women--simply to make…

Less-advantaged students are under-represented at prestigious universities, but can we infer that they actively avoid them? This research measured university applicants' knowledge of 115 UK universities. Using card-sort tasks within an interview format, 56 Year 13 students from different types of 16-19 education described how they chose five…

The role of staff involved with undergraduate admissions and recruitment has changed since the turn towards marketisation in higher education. This article focuses on the system in England following both a sharp rise in student fees and an associated tendency for the public university agenda and related social priorities, such as widening…

This study focuses on the effect of globalization on university ranking and current developments and challenges that HEIs face in the global higher education market. It provides detailed information about the origins of international ranking systems, diversification of university rankings and strategic planning of higher education institutes.…

Although increasing the racial and ethnic diversity on college campuses is a key component of any broad policy agenda aimed at reducing structural inequality, access to higher education does not always equate to graduation and equal labor market opportunities. For colleges, students, and society to reap the benefits of diversity, there needs to be…

The study explores the main methods that are used to identify gifted students at both foreign and Russian schools: academic competitions, earned grades, the administration of special tests, and teacher opinions about the individual academic performance of their students. The authors note that none of the criteria are universally used insofar as it…

Supporting preservice teachers in their development of positive mathematical identities is important because of their future responsibility as teachers. In this self-study, we investigated a mathematics teacher educator's facilitation practices during discussions to examine opportunities for preservice teachers to develop productive mathematical…

Despite many periods and methods of resistance, inequality in access to higher education persists. Power has been established as inherent to issues of inequality and as such, any research on inequality is by extension an inquiry into power relations. Yet, there remains a dearth of literature that explicity addresses power and its relationship to…