While forms of tracking have drawn attention for many years, researchers have more recently turned their attention to the courses students take, the teaching that goes on within them, and the peer friendships formed as factors that affect students' educational experiences and post-high school aspirations. This study examines the phenomenon of…

Previous research has questioned the educational value of taking introductory courses in psychology. Study 1 confirmed the usual null to negative associations between taking introductory psychology and performance in a subsequent psychology course. Study 2 showed that, after controlling for IQ, there was actually a positive association between…

The researcher examined the effects of online (OL) and face-to-face (FTF) course modality choice, as a motivational component, on students. self-selection of courses. A naturally occurring control and treatment group comparison design was employed. The participants were 435 college students (200 OL and 235 FTF) who attended an accredited private…

Three years ago, as part of a broad effort to raise academic standards in college sports, the NCAA adopted a controversial rule designed to make life difficult for athletes idling in the classroom. The measure--known as the 40-60-80 rule, or the "progress toward degree" requirement--mandates that, to remain eligible to compete, athletes must…

Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in April 2009. Using a comprehensive longitudinal data set as an example, poses questions and raises issues around defining a high school curriculum that is related to indicators of college success.

Past research from Pew's Economic Mobility Project (EMP) has shown that a college degree quadruples the chances that an individual born into the bottom income quintile will reach the top quintile in adulthood. For community colleges in particular, the project has shown that getting a community college degree increases earnings by an average of…

The 2015 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 51st in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The "Digest" has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

Analyses of data from operational course placement systems are subject to the effects of truncation; students with low placement test scores may enroll in a remedial course, rather than a standard-level course, and therefore will not have outcome data from the standard course. In "soft" truncation, some (but not all) students who score…

A study of four people enrolled in General National Vocational Qualifications courses shows that career and educational choices are constrained by culture and by issues of status and prestige. Simply giving choices does not address social inequalities, market forces, or status differentials, making GNVQs less empowering than intended. (SK)

British secondary students (n=342) revealed largely stereotypical views of school subjects. Such views were associated with sex stereotyped attitudes toward occupations and roles. Boys showed much more bias in subject choices, and those choosing "masculine" subjects were more likely to support traditional sex roles. (SK)

Examined the lack of participation in humanities courses of Asian Australian students relative to other ethnic groups and studied the difficulties Asian Australian students faced in humanities courses. Focus group interviews and questionnaires completed by 173 students suggested that students from different ethnic groups differed in their reasons…

Describes a solution to alleviate the low numbers of students graduating from the majority of physics programs throughout the nation. Discusses the outcome of a virtual physics department. (Author/CCM)

Uses documentary analysis and an informal case study to locate antecedents of a shift towards lack of preparedness among college entrants and a general shift towards a more utilitarian higher education. Concludes that changes put in place to make mathematics more widely useful may result in losing the features which make it marketable. (Author/MM)

Reports on a study exploring why students are not studying chemistry. Three groups of graduating high school students and their chemistry teachers stayed at a research institute working on molecular modeling and wrote essays on school chemistry versus chemistry in research. Concludes that school chemistry does not convey today's chemistry in…