A longitudinal study design is used to find out whether health and health behaviours at age 12-16 predict educational level in early adulthood. The purpose is to study direct (based on health) and indirect (based on health behaviours) health-related selection mechanisms in adolescence. These mechanisms contribute to the allocation of people into various educational positions and thus to the cre...

Arthur Jensen argues that the failure of recent compensatory education efforts to produce lasting effects on children’s I Q and achievement suggests that the premises on which these efforts have been based should be reexamined. H e begins by questioning a central notion upon which these and other edu­ cational programs have recently been based: that IQ differences are almost en­ tirely a result...

BACKGROUND Research into teacher expectations has shown that these have an effect on student achievement. Some researchers have explored the impact of various student characteristics on teachers' expectations. One attribute of interest is ethnicity. AIMS This study aimed to explore differences in teachers' expectations and judgments of student reading performance for Maori, Pacific Island, As...

Socioeconomic stress has long been found to place youth at risk, with low family income conferring disadvantages in adolescents' school achievement and success. This study investigates the role of socioeconomic stress on academic adjustment, and pinpoints family obligation as a possible buffer of negative associations. We examined direct and interactive effects at two time points in the same sa...

Jeffrey Lucas Deputy Director, Baldrige National Quality Program What happens when a K‐12 school system sets a goal beyond meeting the minimum state and federal standards for student achievement, and instead commits to “Igniting a Passion for Learning”? In the case of Iredell‐Statesville Schools (I‐SS) in North Carolina, a 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient with over 22,000...

Adolescents in middle school and high school characterize their interactions with teachers as frequently unsatisfying and unmotivating. They report that their experiences in the classroom lack meaningful challenges, supportive relationships, and competenceand motivation-building experiences. Yet, engagement and intrinsic motivation are pivotal in adolescence, as these students have the means to...

In recent years, policymakers have sought to close the achievement gap between black and white students in America’s schools. There is strong evidence that ethnic matching strategies result in greater student achievement among African-Americans on standardized tests. However, for all the present evidence, little is known about why ethnic matching leads to higher scholastic achievement. Through ...

Student response systems (clickers) are viewed positively by students and instructors in numerous studies. Evidence that clickers enhance student learning is more variable. After becoming comfortable with the technology during fall 2005-spring 2006, we compared student opinion and student achievement in two different courses taught with clickers in fall 2006. One course was an introductory biol...

Students experience various types of difficulties when it comes to examinations, where some of them are subject related while others are more of a psychological character. A number of factors influencing academic success or failure of undergraduate students are identified in various research studies. One of the many important questions related to that is how to select individuals endangered to ...