Raising the Bar: Curricular Intensity and Academic Performance

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Attewell ◽  
Thurston Domina
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
College Entry ◽  
12Th Grade ◽  
Student Socioeconomic Status

Using national transcript data, the authors examine inequality in access to an advanced curriculum in high school and assess the consequences of curricular intensity on test scores and college entry. Inequalities in curricular intensity are primarily explained by student socioeconomic status effects that operate within schools rather than between schools. They find significant positive effects of taking a more intense curriculum on 12th-grade test scores and in probabilities of entry to and completion of college. However, the effect sizes of curricular intensity are generally modest, smaller than advocates of curricular upgrading policies have implied.

The Influence on Mathematics Test Scores, by Ethnicity and Sex, of Prior Achievement and High School Mathematics Courses

1987 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 180-186
Author(s):  
Lyle V. Jones
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Expected Improvement ◽  
White Female ◽  
Advanced Mathematics ◽  
Senior Year ◽  
Mathematics Courses ◽  
Mathematics Test ◽  
Student Socioeconomic Status

Data from a national sample of high school sophomores in 1980 from the High School and Beyond project show that senior-year mathematics test scores are highly dependent on the number of courses taken in mathematics, Algebra I or above. Within each level of course taking, senior test scores are predicted reasonably well from student socioeconomic status, sophomore-year verbal test scores, and sophomore-year mathematics test scores. The results support the theses that (a) whether black or white, female or male, sophomore students with similar levels of mathematics achievement may be expected to experience similar levels of improvement by taking additional mathematics courses and (b) the expected improvement is elevated for students with four or more credits of advanced mathematics or with three credits that include calculus.

scholarly journals Selective Schools and Academic Achievement

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damon Clark
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
Assignment Test ◽  
School Students ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
University Enrollment ◽  
Selective Schools ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selective School

Abstract In this paper I consider the impact of attending a selective high school in the UK. Students are assigned to these schools on the basis of a test taken in primary school and, using data on these assignment test scores for a particular district, I exploit this rule to estimate the causal effects of selective schools on test scores, high school course taking and university enrollment. Despite the huge peer advantage enjoyed by selective school students, I show that four years of selective school attendance generates at best small effects on test scores. Selective schools do however have positive effects on course-taking and, more suggestively, university enrollment, evidence suggesting they may have important longer run impacts.

scholarly journals Impacts of attending an inclusive STEM high school: meta-analytic estimates from five studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Means ◽  
Haiwen Wang ◽  
Xin Wei ◽  
Viki Young ◽  
Emi Iwatani
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
School Outcomes ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Stem Major ◽  
High School Outcomes ◽  
Mathematics And Science ◽  
Positive Impacts

Abstract Background Inclusive STEM high schools seek to broaden STEM participation by accepting students on the basis of interest rather than test scores and providing a program sufficient to prepare students for a STEM major in college. Almost nonexistent before the present century, these high schools have proliferated over the last two decades as a strategy for addressing gaps in STEM education and career participation. This study uses a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relationship between attending an inclusive STEM high school and a set of high school outcomes known to predict college entry and declaration of a STEM college major. Results Combining effect estimates from five separate datasets of students from inclusive STEM high schools and matched comparison schools, the analysis reported here used data from administrative records and survey data for 9719 students in 94 high schools to obtain estimates of the average impact of attending an inclusive STEM high school on STEM-related high school outcomes. Positive effects for inclusive STEM high schools were found for completion of key STEM courses and for likelihood that students would engage in self-selected STEM activities. Students who attended an inclusive STEM high school also identified more strongly with mathematics and science and were more likely as high school seniors to be very interested in one or more STEM careers. Importantly, these positive impacts were found for low-income, under-represented minority, and female students as well as for students overall. Attending an inclusive STEM high school appeared to have a small positive impact on science test scores for students overall and for economically disadvantaged students, but there were no discernible impacts on mathematics test scores. Conclusions These findings suggest that the inclusive STEM high school model can be implemented broadly with positive impacts for students, including low-income, female, and under-represented minority students. Positive impacts on the odds of taking advanced mathematics and science courses in high school and on interest in entering a STEM profession are of particular importance, given the strong association between these variables and entry into a STEM major in college.

Human capital portability and international student migration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreu Arenas
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Foreign Students ◽  
International Student ◽  
Student Migration ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Average Student

Abstract This article examines how human capital portability frictions affect the quantity and the quality of international student migration (ISM). Using administrative data on college enrolment in Spain, it evaluates a reform that lifted the requirement to take the Spanish end-of-high-school exam for foreign students from a subset of countries. The reform increased student migration from treated countries by 50%, compared to migration from control countries. Post-reform migrants have lower predicted test scores but still outperform native students. The results suggest that multilateral diploma recognitions can significantly increase ISM without large costs in student migrant quality, and with positive effects on average student quality.

The Impact of English Learner Reclassification on High School Reading and Academic Progress

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Johnson
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
English Language ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
English Learner ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
High School English ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Impact

This study estimates the causal impact of 8th grade English learner (EL) reclassification on high school English language arts (ELA) standardized test scores, SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) reading, and on-track to graduate status. I apply a regression discontinuity design to rich administrative data from a large district in California. The estimated effects of eighth grade reclassification on 9th, 10th, and 11th grade ELA test scores were statistically insignificant, and I can rule out negative effects less than −0.17 SDs and positive effects larger than 0.09 SDs. The negative effect on SAT reading was fairly large, with a confidence interval of −0.27 SDs to 0.05 SDs. Estimates for on-track status in 10th and 11th grades were positive but imprecise.

Mobilizing for Some

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffael Heiss ◽  
Jörg Matthes
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Social Media ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
School Students ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Specific Factors

Abstract. This study investigated the effects of politicians’ nonparticipatory and participatory Facebook posts on young people’s political efficacy – a key determinant of political participation. We employed an experimental design, using a sample of N = 125 high school students (15–20 years). Participants either saw a Facebook profile with no posts (control condition), nonparticipatory posts, or participatory posts. While nonparticipatory posts did not affect participants’ political efficacy, participatory posts exerted distinct effects. For those high in trait evaluations of the politician presented in the stimulus material or low in political cynicism, we found significant positive effects on external and collective efficacy. By contrast, for those low in trait evaluations or high in cynicism, we found significant negative effects on external and collective efficacy. We did not find any effects on internal efficacy. The importance of content-specific factors and individual predispositions in assessing the influence of social media use on participation is discussed.

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