The most prevalent factors in the academic success of African American male undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina were studied. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) mathematics and verbal scores and high school rank were the independent, cognitive variables; and self-esteem, academic self-concept, religiosity, African…

The potential use of actual performance by high school students in college-level courses as a predictor of college achievement, rather than or in addition to Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, was investigated. At Syracuse University Project Advance over 4,000 students a year in 80 high schools in four states participate in joint high school…

This paper studies two kinds of selection practices in schools, curriculum tracking and class ranking. Using multiple regression analyses of the National Longitudinal Survey (NLS), this paper finds that tracking and class ranks have important effects on whether students can attend college. However, it also finds that many students misperceive…

This study examined the relationship between demographic variables and academic misconduct (cheating) among undergraduate students at a mid-sized, four-year public university. A total of 422 students from 22 classes completed a 27-item self-report measure assessing their involvement in 17 types of academic misconduct. In addition, the measure…

This paper analyzes Jencks et al's (1983) and Hauser et al's (1983) reports of their research on the Wisconsin status attainment model. For example, the meaning and interpretation of "unmeasured" family background are discussed and the charge that the status attainment model ignores social structure is examined. (Author/IS)

This study examines the default behavior of 3,325 undergraduate student borrowers who attended Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) and entered repayment on their TG-guaranteed Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans between October 1, 2000 and September 30, 2002 (fiscal years 2001-2002). Using the Department of Education's official…

The effectiveness of a state-mandated set of evaluation criteria to identify potential dropouts is evaluated in this study. The selection criteria, based on unsatisfactory academic performance, excluded special education and limited language proficient students. Data analysis of school records and various test scores of 55,666 students in grades…

A longitudinal study was undertaken in 1981 to examine the educational and career achievements of 81 individuals who graduated from an Illinois high school in 1981 either as a valedictorian, salutatorian, or top honors student. These individuals completed questionnaires and were given in-depth interviews. One pattern emerged from the data…

The extent to which personal and academic factors are important in college admission decisions was studied in 1978, based on data on 25,000 applicants to 9 colleges (Colgate University, Williams College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Kenyon College, Kalamazoo College, Occidental College, Hartwick College, University of Richmond, and Bucknell…

Entrance scores on the Mathematics Achievement Test, Level I, and Scholastic Aptitude Test (verbal and mathematical), and high school rank for 2,189 students entering engineering as freshmen at The University of Texas at Austin during the years 1974-1977 were used in regression equations as predictors of academic achievement and retention for…

The information presented in this report was drawn from a 1973-74 school year survey of school programs and administrative practices that was mailed to all 567 school systems enrolling 12,000 or more pupils and to a stratified random sample of 702 systems enrolling 300 to 11,999 pupils. After reporting that the overwhelming majority of the…

This study examined whether the educational practice of retaining students in junior first grade for a year between kindergarten and first grade enhanced their academic achievement and self-concept of academic ability. Subjects were 120 students randomly selected from a midwestern school district and divided equally into 4 groups: (1) recommended…

The impact of cohort changes with regard to ethnic group, gender, class rank, and first language learned on yearly average Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Test of Standard Written English (TSWE) scores was studied. All examinee records, including student test scores and student responses to the Student Descriptive Questionnaire, in the College…

After examining the decline in average scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) from 1963 to the present, it has been suggested that, although SAT scores continue to contribute to effective prediction of college grades, the test may have been overtaken by changes in high school programs that have made the test increasingly less related to the…

Data from Project Talent are utilized to assess the representativeness of the samples used in the Wisconsin and the Exploration in Equality of Opportunity (EEO) surveys. Adequacy of the measures of academic aptitude and aspiration used in the surveys are examined, and problems with the Wisconsin model are briefly discussed. (RM)