"Science and Engineering Indicators" (SEI) is first and foremost a volume of record comprising high-quality quantitative data on the U.S. and international science and engineering enterprise. SEI includes an overview and seven chapters that follow a generally consistent pattern. The chapter titles are as follows: (1) Elementary and…

In this study, a theoretical model is tested to examine factors shaping the decision to pursue STEM fields of study among students entering community colleges and four-year institutions, based on a nationally representative sample of high school graduates from 2004. Applying the social cognitive career theory and multi-group structural equation…

There has been much concern recently in the UK about the decline in the number of students studying physics beyond age 16. To investigate why this might be we used data from a national database of student qualifications and a multilevel modelling technique to investigate which factors had the greatest impact on the uptake of physics at Advanced…

Presented at the AP Annual Conference (APAC) in Las Vegas, NV in July 2013. This analysis takes a close look at first-generation Advanced Placement® (AP®) test takers to better understand the needs and challenges they face on their path to college. The analysis focuses on college-bound AP test takers who also took the SAT and examines a variety of…

Think College Reports present descriptive data in narrative or tabular form to provide timely information to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers for review and use. This summary report offers an overview of the descriptive data on students from Year Two (2016-2017) collected by the Think College National Coordinating Center (NCC) from the…

Little is known of how and when undergraduate students decide to progress to postgraduate studies. This study examined the effect of a single semester on intentions to undertake postgraduate study. The study was conducted twice in two years using approximately 120 students enrolled in a third year "Behaviour in Organisations" unit at a…

Since its introduction in the early 1970s A-level psychology has grown in popularity to become the fourth most popular A-level. During this time it has also been heavily criticised by the media and higher education for its lack of rigour and practicability. Issues such as the lack of subject specialists, damaging changes made by the Qualifications…

This paper uses student-level data from a statewide community college system to examine the validity of placement tests and high school information in predicting course grades and college performance. We consider the ACCUPLACER and COMPASS placement tests, using two quantitative and two literacy tests from each battery. We find that placement…

This study examined the relationship between academic preparation and post-secondary educational outcomes. To uncover the factors that influence secondary-level school course-taking patterns and outcomes, multi-level modelling was conducted using data from a nationally representative sample of US secondary-level school students from the Education…

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the reasons students, identifying as non-White, made the decision to pursue a career in agricultural education. This phenomenological study allowed the researchers to obtain the overall phenomenon of the thought processes that encompass decisions of students of color when selecting an…

This study set out to learn more about the perceived influence of stakeholders on academic decisions affecting intercollegiate athletics, with the intent that such knowledge would help provide useful implications for future leaders making decisions that impact unique student populations. As an area of research, the semi-autonomous unit of…

One useful and increasingly popular method of classifying students is known commonly as cluster analysis. The variety of techniques that comprise the cluster analytic family are intended to sort observations (for example, students) within a data set into subsets (clusters) that share similar characteristics and differ in meaningful ways from other…

The most effective ways to promote learning and inspire careers related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) remain elusive. To address this gap, we reviewed the literature and designed and implemented a high-fidelity, medical simulation-based Harvard Medical School MEDscience course, which was integrated into high school…

The relationship between high school mathematics curricula and the likelihood of students who enroll in a developmental (non-credit bearing) course in college taking additional mathematics courses was studied. The results showed that high school mathematics curriculum, years of high school mathematics completed, and ACT mathematics scores were…

States rely on data from both the K-12 and postsecondary sectors to inform policy discussions; chart the progress of students, schools, districts, colleges, and the state; pinpoint best practices and areas of need; allocate scarce resources; and make other important education decisions every day. However, states need to securely link limited, but…