For many people committed to strong academic standards, the "advanced" high school courses offered through the College Board's Advanced Placement program and, increasingly, the Diploma Programme of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) represent the curricular gold standard for secondary education. Admissions directors and…

The State of Florida Department of Education provides pre-and-post-graduation data for public high school graduates throughout Florida. These data were used for the present report to produce data sets for all M-DCPS regular high schools and charter high schools graduating students in 2007 and 2008. Summary data for the district are also provided.…

Beginning in fall 1991, Napa Valley College (NVC), in California, switched from essentially mandatory placement of incoming students to an advisory, self-selection system, where students receive course recommendations based on assessment test results. In order to evaluate the validity of NVC's assessment procedures, a study was conducted of…

The 1990 High School Transcript Study provides information regarding current course offerings and students' course-taking patterns in the nation's secondary schools. Since similar studies were conducted of the course-taking patterns of 1987 and 1982 graduates, changes can be studied. Transcripts were collected from 21,589 students who graduated…

This report provides information about the performance of 1998 graduating seniors nationwide who took the ACT Assessment as sophomores, juniors, or seniors. Caution in applying these results is advised because these ACT-tested seniors may not be representative of the total population of graduating seniors. Information is provided according to the…

In 1992, a study was conducted to ascertain the characteristics, performance, and persistence of high school students who enrolled at the two-year regional campuses of Kent State University. Specific data collected for the study included the number of semesters and credit hours completed, and the cumulative grade point averages (GPA's) of the…

A sample of approximately 50 educational organizations in England and Wales were invited to supply statistics or other information regarding where adults start their return to learning. Approximately two-thirds responded and also commented on the feasibility of collecting such data. Responses indicated a lack of "hard" quantitative…

This book uses detailed case studies of two secondary schools in England to examine the relationship between curriculum choice and gender identity among 14-year-old students making their first choices about what to pursue at examination level. It reveals a two-way process. Pupils' decisions on what to take are influenced by how they perceive…

This document describes the systematic approach used at Philips High School (PHS) in Birmingham, Alabama, to collect, store, and use various diagnostic tools when assisting special population enrollees with choices influencing their educational/occupational goals. It explains how the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) is used in combination with…

The motivations of adult learners who were not admitted to college degree programs but who chose to take credit courses on a part-time basis were studied, with attention to the relationship of motivational orientations and sociodemographic variables (sex, race, age, and family income level). The study population of 464 part-time students 25 years…

Perspectives about evaluating instruction by telecommunications are offered in two related conference presentations, based on the experience of the Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting Project. The project has two goals: to create high-quality college-level materials using telecommunications, and to demonstrate the application of…

The effectiveness of the seven-period schedule implemented at a rural high school in southwestern Virginia and the feasibility of extending the system to other high schools were assessed. Topics of study included whether students chose to take additional courses, which courses were selected, problems for students and faculty created by the…

An important component of vocational assessment for handicapped children from kindergarten through adolescence is the measurement of interests. Direct measurements of interests generally provide inadequate information, because of the linear relationship between expressed interests and personal experiences and language development. In indirect…

The role of Design and Technology in schools in England is changing. These changes were heralded by the Government Green Paper "14-19: Extending Opportunities, Raising Standards" (Department for Education and Skills [DfES], 2002), which proposed that education and training of 14-19-year-olds should be delivered by a more flexible…

High school students were asked to identify the factors that influenced their school subject choice. Both sexes named the same influences. Detailed analyses of subject choices in physics and technical craft are presented and support from parents, teachers, and friends are cited as the strongest predictors of choice. (CW)