In this qualitative study, we investigated 15 successful and 15 struggling high school students' perceived stressors, coping strategies, and intrapersonal and environmental factors students perceive to influence their success in college-level courses. We found that students' primary sources of stress involved meeting numerous academic demands and…

Many parallels exist between quality coaches and quality classroom teachers--especially AP teachers, who often feel the pressure to produce positive test results. Having developed a series of techniques and strategies for building a team-oriented winning culture on the field, Jim Fornaciari writes about how he adapted those methods to work in the…

At many of the colleges and universities that attract the most applicants, the high-school course of study is a critical component of the evaluation. Many schools advise their candidates that they must take the most difficult course of study available at their high schools to have a chance of earning admission. Students can feel intense pressure…

Due in part to the growing popularity of the Advanced Placement program, an increasingly large percentage of entering college students are enrolling in calculus courses having already taken calculus in high school. Many students do not score high enough on the AP calculus examination to place out of Calculus I, and many do not take the…

There is a growing body of research suggesting that schools need to respond to changing social and economic dynamics by prioritising "21st-century skills". Proponents of this view, who have been termed "the 21st century skills movement", have called for greater emphasis on cognitive and non-cognitive skills development,…

International mindedness is considered by many educational researchers and organizations as a determining feature in international education. This article used data as part of a PhD case study inquiry to explore how international mindedness is developed by two students in an IB school in an Indian Ocean Island Nation. Through a qualitative…

Given the rapid growth in the number of students completing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme and the potential for students to be educated entirely through IB programmes, it is important to understand associations between programme participation and cognitive and non-cognitive learning attributes. Through a mixed methods…

This qualitative multiple-case study examined the implementation of an experiential learning component of an academic curriculum in six high schools in Turkey. Structures and supports that influenced programme implementation were examined using an implementation framework adapted from Durlak and Dupre. The study describes how the experiential…

Historically, AP Potential™ has used PSAT/NMSQT® scores to identify students who are likely to earn a 3 or higher on a specific AP® Exam--based on research showing moderate to strong relationships between PSAT/NMSQT scores and AP Exam scores (Camara & Millsap, 1998; Ewing, Camara & Millsap, 2006; Zhang, Patel & Ewing, 2014a). For most…

In 2015, legislation to improve access to dual-credit programs and to reduce disparities in access and completion--particularly for low income and underrepresented students--was enacted. The new law focused on expanding access to College in the High School but acknowledged issues in other dual-credit programs and reinforced the notion that cost…

Counter to narratives of persistently failed school reform, we argue that reforms sometimes succeed and seek to understand why. Drawing on examples from the founding of public schools to the present, we find that successful system-wide reforms addressed problems that teachers thought they had by being consistent with prevailing norms and values,…

This mixed-methods research study offers insights and explanations into gender imbalance in the college readiness program, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). Over 200 schools that have been implementing AVID for more than 4 years across the United States participated in this study. Three years of archived historical data pertaining…

Distance learning has been used as one method to increase access for students who have otherwise been underrepresented in college preparatory courses like Advanced Placement (AP). This study evaluated the impact of a statewide Virtual Advanced Placement (VAP) program on access to AP courses for students from underrepresented populations. Survey…

Developed in response to concerns that too few students were enrolling and succeeding in postsecondary education, early college high schools are small schools that blur the line between high school and college. This article presents results from a longitudinal experimental study comparing outcomes for students accepted to an early college through…

Acceleration programs are academically challenging courses in which high school students can simultaneously earn credit toward a high school diploma and a postsecondary degree (dual credit). These programs include Advanced Placement courses, concurrent-enrollment courses, Postsecondary Enrollment Options courses (a dual-enrollment program in…