Dual enrollment (DE), an arrangement by which high school students take college courses, is becoming increasingly popular as a means of improving high school education. However, there is very little rigorous evidence on its impact on student outcomes. A particular concern in evaluating its effects is the selection bias that arises because more…

Presented at the College Board National Forum, October 2011. In this session on academic preparedness and the Common Core, presenters summarized research on academic rigor and current course taking patterns for students and discussed how the new common core state standards will impact curriculum and expectations for student coursework.

This is the first in a series of three research briefs summarizing findings from the newest and most rigorous research related to racial and socioeconomic diversity in public schools. The studies on which this brief is based were published recently in three special issues of the peer-reviewed journal, "Teachers College Record," edited by…

According to the "acting White" hypothesis, African American students who do well in school are negatively sanctioned by their peers, leading them to withdraw future academic engagement. No study to date has tested the entire causal process posited by the hypothesis. This article uses the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, nationally…

In the course of educational expansion, student populations have become more diverse. This paper represents an international literature review on the topic of first-generation students (FGS), i.e. students whose parents have not obtained a higher education qualification. On the basis of more than 70 research articles and reports on FGS from…

Advisors with a working knowledge about course workload and the levels of learning in specific classes provide the best possible advising. Unfortunately, they often have only limited information regarding important course characteristics. With a better understanding of these factors, advisors can assist students in making appropriate course…

It takes an honest look for a technology teacher to determine whether he or she should engage in doctoral study. Doctoral programs have a rather high attrition rate, as high as 40 or 50%, and university resources might be better spent on those who have a greater chance of succeeding. However, for those who take the plunge, doctoral studies can be…

This study examined the parent-child dyad as a context in which children's gender-stereotyped course selections are reinforced. Fifty four children from two age groups (Ms = 10.67 and 12.71 years) and their mothers and fathers selected courses for when children reached secondary school. Afterwards, children and parents discussed their decisions.…

In the fall of 2008, the authors contacted a representative sample of over 3,600 high schools in the U.S., both public and private, to determine whether or not physics was taught there. They received responses from over 99% of the schools. For the schools which indicated they were offering physics, they obtained contact information for the…

Achievement gap language has become associated with the observed disparities on a number of educational measures between the academic performances of Black and White students. This theoretical lens is problematic because it sends an unintended message that Black students are not worthy of study in their own right. Using a mixed-methodological…

This research examined the extent to which future job prospects, peer and parental influence and or intrinsic interest impacted the college major selection processes utilized by freshmen and sophomores. Using a mixed method approach, the researcher interviewed six college recruitment officers, administered surveys to 466 freshmen and sophomores…

Few students (particularly few girls) currently choose to take their Final School Examination (FSE) in advanced mathematics, chemistry and physics, a combination of subjects that is the best preparation for a science-oriented study in higher education. Are these subjects attainable by more students than is currently the case? This study examined…

Even though female students now make up more than half of all higher education students in many countries, the distribution of women across fields of study is still very uneven. This study examines the gendered nature of recruitment and dropout in higher education. Our results show that students who made gender traditional choices more often had…

As of 2008, approximately 40% of eighth grade students in the United States enroll in Algebra I (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2008). Although research has shown that students have more opportunities to take advanced mathematics courses by taking eighth grade Algebra I, in the United States, approximately only one-third to one-half…

In section two of a 2002 amendment on the Undergraduate Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education Improvement Act, congress stated "A workforce that is highly trained in science...is crucial to generating the innovation that drives economic growth..." (Committee on Science, 2002). Given the growth in science,…