My dissertation utilizes an explanatory, sequential mixed-methods research design to assess factors influencing community college students' transfer probability to baccalaureate-granting institutions and to present promising practices in colleges and states directed at improving upward transfer, particularly for low-income and first-generation…

Prior to the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the public was expressing discontent about the declining of students' test scores and the quality of public schooling. The federal government eventually began discussing and debating for education reform and the No Child Left Behind of 2001 was finally passed and signed by President…

In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Kindergarten Readiness Act into law, which changed the kindergarten entry age so that children must turn 5 by September instead of December to enroll. The new grade level was put into place to promote school readiness for California's youngest learners. It also established a new grade…

We use a frontier production function estimation technique to analyze whether elementary schools in Florida are operating at an efficient level and to explain any inefficiencies. A motivation for this analysis comes from recent state and federal level educational initiatives designed to improve school accountability and reduce class sizes. Results…

Approximately one quarter of U.S. students do not graduate from high school with their peers. Failing to complete high school severely limits opportunities for employment and future financial stability. High school dropouts earn lower wages through their lifetime and work for fewer years. The costs to society of high school dropouts are also high…

In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Kindergarten Readiness Act into law, which changed the kindergarten entry age so that children must turn 5 by September instead of December to enroll. The new grade level was put into place to promote school readiness for California's youngest learners. It also established a new grade…

The Texas Projection Measure (TPM) has grown out of the state's need to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). An examination of the state's method of predicting 8th grade mathematics scores reveals that several factors have been ignored in the process of developing the model, including assumptions in its underlying statistical…

We evaluate the impact of Florida's test-based promotion policy on the probability that low-performing students are retained using data on the universe of third-grade students in the state of Florida from 2001 to 2004. We also examine the effect of formal exemptions to the policy on student proficiency in reading two years later. In an evaluation…

High school dropout, enrollment, and graduation rates are important indicators of students' college and career readiness, which in turn significantly impact both individual income levels and the overall knowledge-driven economy. Despite the long-term benefits of a high school education, much of the current literature on raising school…

In many low enrolment countries children are over age for their grade. Conventional indicators of enrolment rates conceal this and better indicators are needed. Over age entry and progression disadvantages late starters; generates wide age ranges in classes and results in pedagogic difficulties; and is likely to especially disadvantage older…

Ninth grade, observes Ruth Curran Neild, marks a critical juncture in American schooling. Students who manage the academic demands of the transition to high school have a high probability of graduating four years later. But those who do not--who fail to earn as many credits as they should during ninth grade--face a substantially elevated risk of…

Objective: This article describes initial efforts by the newly developed Clinician-Educator Section (CES) of the Association for Academic Psychiatry (AAP) to support the career advancement of academic faculty within psychiatry. The CES provided its first workshop at the 2005 AAP annual meeting, focusing on early career development and academic…

Student progress and a method of assessing the intellectual needs of each student are discussed. (CK)

Until the 1930s it was common educational practice to require students doing poor academic work to repeat classes, to repeat entire grades, or to remain for some period of time in a grade level where they needed additional work. When psychologists and others determined that these techniques had negative psycho-emotional effects, the practices were…