This study was conducted by members of a site of the California Writing Project in partnership with a large, urban, low-SES school district where 93% of the students speak English as a second language and 69% are designated Limited English Proficient. Over an eight-year period, a relatively stable group of 55 secondary teachers engaged in ongoing…

This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a two-quarter, extended orientation program for new, undecided students at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). The course was designed to assist students with the transition from high school to college and acquaint them with strategies to maximize their success at UCI. Of the 690 new,…

This study examined how secondary institutions define and implement institutional academic standards and progress requirements for federal financial aid recipients and how the federal requirements for academic progress affect the distribution of grades at these institutions. The study used a mail survey of a nationally representative sample of 200…

This paper demonstrates that the various College Board examinations, most importantly the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs), make predictions of grade point averages at the University of California at Berkeley that are biased against women. This finding persists even when one has made corrections for differences in fields that women and men study…

This study investigated an apparent dilemma suggested by previous research on faculty orientations toward students and academic standards. Some research suggests that encouraging faculty to be student-centered is an effective way to increase student learning and development, while other research indicates that being student-centered leads to…

As part of an effort to statistically validate the placement tests used in California's San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) a study was undertaken to review the criteria- and content-related validity of the Assessment and Placement Services (APS) reading and writing tests. Evidence of criteria and content validity was gathered from…

Focusing on data from 1992 to 1994, this articulation report provides information on students who transferred from one of Florida's 28 community colleges to the State University System (SUS). Following an overview of articulation in Florida and a report summary, 15 tables are provided, presenting information on students' gender, race, age, date of…

The High School Intervention Centers Program (HSICP) of the Detroit (Michigan) Public Schools was developed to provide an alternative for high school students who were identified as performing below grade level in English and mathematics and who exhibited the self-defeating behavior of truancy. The program provided an opportunity for ninth graders…

In November 1996, the Los Rios Community College District (LRCCD) conducted a study of the enrollment, success, and persistence of area high school graduates at the three District colleges: American River College (ARC), Cosumnes River College (CRC), and Sacramento City College (SCC). The cohort for the study included students enrolled at District…

A study investigated whether differences exist in the freshman-level course grades between the "high-risk" college freshmen enrolled in a linked-course developmental program and the other freshmen who were not required to participate in the developmental program. Subjects, 286 "non-developmental" freshmen and 71 freshmen…

This study examines the relationship between test-wiseness, memory, and grade-point average in college students. Test wiseness is defined as a subject's capacity to utilize the characteristics and format of a test to receive a higher score, independent of the examinee's knowledge of the subject matter. Researchers hypothesized that test-wiseness…

In fall 1993, a study was conducted at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) to examine characteristics and outcomes for 264 former students who had transferred to State System of Higher Education (SSHE) universities between 1988 and 1993. The SSHE universities provided data regarding student major, credits transferred, current enrollment…

A study compared records of General Educational Development (GED) graduates and University of Alaska (UAA) students to assess first-semester college performance of 506 recently certified GED graduates. Data indicated that 31 percent of Anchorage-area GED graduates had enrolled at the UAA within 1 to 4 years following their GED graduation. Fifty…

Although the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) is used extensively as an admissions test for graduate programs, relatively little research has examined the validity of the MAT for predicting subsequent graduate student achievement and no published studies have examined differential prediction of student performance from MAT scores. There were two…

This research brief presents data on transfer students in the University of Wisconsin (UW) system, with emphasis on student access, enrollment, and outcomes. Among the findings are the following: (1) The number of transfer students enrolled in the UW system reached a 10-year high of 9,684 in fall 1996, followed by a slight decline in fall 1997;…