System Admission Test and Licensure Examination for Teachers: The Case of Passed and Conditional Groups

A vast body of studies has a propensity towards considering system admission test (SAT) scores as one collective variable that influences the licensure examination performance. The current article revisits this research area and further takes a step forward in analysing the influence of SAT score grouped into two categories as passed and conditional. This study is a comparative analysis of the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) performance according to SAT groups of a cohort of 86 elementary education graduates from the Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) Department at the College of Education (CoEd), Mindanao State University, General Santos City (MSU GSC), Philippines. The Mann-Whitney U Test was mainly used as a statistical tool. The results showed that the majority of the students with passed SAT scores obtained a good level of LET performance and those with conditional SAT scores attained a fair level of LET performance. It was further revealed that there is a statistically significant difference in the LET performance of the students with passed and conditional SAT scores. Based on these pieces of evidence, this current research presents three essential instructional accommodations that may be considered to improve the future LET trajectory of the students. The recommendation for future research is also offered.

Adaptive Behavior of College Students With Autism

As an increasing number of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) matriculate on college campuses, all stakeholders should be prepared to meet their needs. Despite a body of literature describing adaptive behavior deficits of those with ASD, there is a paucity of research examining these skills among those who are college-ready. The present study investigated the adaptive behavior of a diverse group ( N = 27) of incoming college students with ASD and examined to what extent these skills could predict initial academic success. Despite average intelligence and good academic indicators, deficits in communication, socialization, and daily living skills were found. No models, even those which included intelligence quotient (IQ) and SAT scores, were predictive of first-semester or first-year grade point average (GPA). Importantly, freshman-to-sophomore retention appeared higher than the university average. Findings suggest that practitioners and families should consider adaptive behavior in addition to intellectual and academic capabilities when considering postsecondary opportunities and available supports.

Online Design Thinking Problems for Enhancing Motivation of Gifted Students

Motivation is important for harnessing abilities and competencies, even if students are naturally or potentially gifted. This study used design thinking pedagogy as an innovative approach to motivate students holistically to learn and attend school. Design thinking is an approach to acquire and apply knowledge in a real situation that involves five stages: empathy, define, ideate, prototype, and test. The study was a quantitative quasi-experimental study with a one-group design and pre and post-tests. The study evaluated intrinsic and four extrinsic motivation categories – integrated, identified, introjected, and external regulation – to evaluate gifted students’ motivation to do coursework, and used a motivation scale to gauge their willingness to attend school, and an attitude questionnaire to determine students’ satisfaction with and engagement in the design thinking class. The experimental group consisted of 77 randomly selected gifted students at the King Abdullah II School for Excellence. After engaging in the design thinking class, the gifted students’ scores on all motivation categories were higher in the post-test than they had been in the pre-test. However, gifted students’ motivation levels were not associated with their gender, grades, and SAT scores. Thus, the design thinking approach is a promising approach for educating gifted students; students found it satisfying and they exhibited high levels of engagement behavior. The study results recommend that a design thinking approach is worth pursuing to increase gifted students’ motivation. The researchers recommend considering both gifted and non-gifted students in future studies involving the design thinking approach.

The uniformity of stereotype threat: Analyzing the moderating effects of premeasured performance

Stereotype threat theory states that female and minority test-takers underperform on cognitive tests because they experience pressure by negative stereotypes about their group’s performance. The theory implicates larger effects for test-takers who strongly identify with an academic domain, and for whom the test is most difficult. These moderators could create treatment-by-covariate interactions when authors included premeasured performance (e.g., SAT scores) as covariate, as is common practice in stereotype threat research. In this preregistered Bayesian meta-analysis, we use raw data from 31 stereotype threat studies involving 3357 negatively stereotyped participants to check whether stereotype threat effects are moderated by premeasured performance. Results yield evidence for no moderation. Correlations between the premeasured performance and test scores are similar across conditions, indicating uniformity of stereotype threat with respect to premeasured performance. This suggests that domain identification or test difficulty as both operationalized by premeasured performance fail to moderate stereotype threat effects.

Of School Boards and Superintendents

A beloved, respected, and highly accomplished superintendent in a rural, high-risk district, Mr. Carroll, is confronted with dissident board members for the first time in his 7-year tenure. Two newly elected members have strained relationships between current board members and are calling for his resignation based upon what they perceive as low SAT scores, the excessive amount of Carroll’s salary, and the district’s focus on academic growth, rather than achievement, of students. Despite mediation from the state aimed at easing tensions on both sides, the issue reaches a boiling point at a board meeting.

Understanding the Challenges of Graduation Rate Faced by Two Education Preparatory Programs in the State of Mississippi

In this study, the authors described the contribution of student’s academic performance indicators as predictors of graduation rate in two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Education Preparatory Program (EPP) in the State of Mississippi. The authors interviewed two EPP chairs in summer 2019 and used qualitative inquiry to code and look for themes to provide meaning and add additional explanation to the students’ graduation rate. The main findings of the study suggest that teacher candidates’ ACT/SAT scores are predictive of graduation rates. Similarly, socioeconomic status showed a positive relationship with admission to the EPP and graduation rate. Each EPP faces the challenge of graduating a sufficient number of certified teachers to ensure its continuity. The EPP needs to ensure that students are capable of passing the state certification exams and graduating to be successful. Graduation rate is an indicator of EPP performance and its likelihood of continuity and longevity.

Levels and subject

In this study, we use an experimental survey approach to if the degree of positionality is sensitive to variations in reference levels and targeted subject. Based on previous research in economics and psychology, our hypotheses are that 1) people are more positional when they choose between alternatives with relatively high consumption levels, and 2) people are more positional when they choose for a hypothetical grandchild, than for themselves. We measure positional preferences in five domains – Income, housing, vacation and SAT-score, and test our hypotheses on a large representative sample from the US (N=1300). As social demographic indicators, we include information about gender, birth year, children or grandchildren, individual income, vacation days, size of home and reported SAT-score. Our results suggest that the instruments commonly used to elicit positional preferences are relatively insensitive to variations in consumption levels and targeted subject, with a few important exceptions. First, we find that positional preferences for income and SAT scores depend on the reference level used in the hypothetical choice scenarios. Second, our results suggest that people are significantly more likely to choose the positional option for housing when they choose for a hypothetical grandchild than when they choose for themselves.

Passport to the future: Boosting academic outcomes and citizenship through urban debate

This study examines the impact of a university-high school debate mentoring program on educational outcomes of high school graduates attending a racially segregated school in New Jersey, USA. Evidence shows that from 2011 to 2018, participants had stronger grade point average growth, higher cumulative grade point averages, and higher SAT scores relative to non-debating graduates. The sample ( N = 275) consists of 55 high school graduates who competed on the debate team and a control group of 220 non-debating graduates. Findings indicate debate graduates experienced a 0.81 GPA growth (2.5–3.31) from 9th grade to 12th grade while non-debate graduates exhibited a markedly lower 0.10 GPA growth (2.2–2.3). Debaters scored higher on particular sections of the SAT exam and overall SAT scores. The study provides evidence of the potential efficacy of debate team membership on student outcomes.