The purpose of this study was to examine what effect the Freshmen Interest Group (FIG) program, a variation of a non-residential learning community had on academic achievement scores and institutional rates of persistence. Study variables included: gender; race; pre-collegiate academic achievement (GPA scores); educational preferences (major choice); enrollment status, and cumulative grade point average scores, and participation in the FIG program. Regression analysis showed that FIG program had a statistically significant positive effect on the mean GPA scores of participants but no significant effect on the rate of institutional persistence. Examining how student gender, race, pre-collegiate achievement, and educational preference interacted with the effect the FIG program had on academic achievement, regression analysis showed that female FIG participants had lower statistically significant achievement scores than male FIG participants, but when analysis was conducted for the full study sample females had higher achievement scores than males. In terms of institutional persistence the analysis of the control variables found that Black identifying students in the sample had statistically significantly high rates of persistence compared to peers, but Black identifying FIG participants had a statistically significantly lower rate of persistence compared to peers participating in the FIG program from other race groups. Students who elected to enroll in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) curriculum area statistically had significantly lower rates of persistence compared to non-STEM students. The study's findings showed that the FIG program was an effective intervention to change the direction of the statistical effect to a higher persistence rate than that found for non-STEM students. The FIG program was shown to be a possible means by which to improve the academic achievement and institutional persistence of college students. Because the results very, in direction and intensity, for students based on some socio-demographic and educational preference variables, policy makers are encouraged to conduct more research and proceed with caution before using a non-residential learning community like the FIG as an universal means by which to increase educational effectiveness. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Fall Semester, 2011. / October 19, 2011. / FIG, learning community, non-residential, persistence, retention / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert A. Schwartz, Professor Directing Dissertation; Alysia Roehrig-Bice, University Representative; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member.

This qualitative study examined the experiences of higher education faculty participating in an interdisciplinary team-taught sustainability curricular project. The concept of sustainability, most often considered in relation to environmental concerns or issues, describes any set of conditions or processes that are configured in such a manner as to reinvest resources, thereby allowing for sustained continuation of the process, without a depletion of existing resources. It follows then, that the educational process itself, that is, the pedagogy of sustainability concepts, must also be sustained by its participants. When placed in the context of mounting global concern and interest in education for sustainable development, empirical research on sustainability curriculum and interdisciplinary team-teaching is critical to developing effective solutions and innovations for complex global problems. The United Nations has declared 2005-2014 as the Decade for Education for Sustainable Development. Higher education is a significant forum for teaching students to think critically, comprehensively, and in an integrated way as to engage sustainable solutions to complex world problems. Limited research and findings on team-teaching, interdisciplinary collaborations, and faculty development leave questions for educators about the most effective means to implement innovative options for education of sustainability competencies. Existing formal and substantive theories are insufficient to address the research question: What conditions and resources are necessary for sustainable participation of faculty in interdisciplinary team-teaching of sustainability curriculum? The purpose of this study was to generate theory, grounded in the data, about the faculty development process and/or conditions necessary for sustained faculty collaborations to offer interdisciplinary team-taught sustainability curriculum. Through a process of grounded analysis involving thematic coding, constant comparison, and data saturation, primary themes were constructed into a model for faculty development of interdisciplinary team teaching that may serve as a means for sustainable, renewable, and ongoing faculty participation in an interdisciplinary team-taught sustainability curriculum program. Data for the study was collected during a three year period from 2009-2011 and was collected as part of an ongoing evaluation of the curricular project under investigation, funded by a national educational foundation. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Fall Semester, 2011. / November 1, 2011. / faculty development, grounded theory, interdisciplinary, qualitative, sustainability, team teaching / Includes bibliographical references. / Joseph Beckham, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ralph Brower, University Representative; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member; Kathy Guthrie, Committee Member.

Researchers have given extensive consideration to public school teachers' retention. Yet, despite independent schools enrolling approximately 12% of our nation's students, the work that has been completed on teachers at independent schools and the influences of their career decisions is limited (Ingersoll, 2004; Pugh, 2007). The purpose of my study was to explore the career decisions of teachers at one independent school to understand issues facing independent school leaders as they meet the challenges of teacher retention. Independent school leaders need to understand the influences that attract and retain high quality teachers so they can better meet their mission and better serve their students. My study examines the following questions: 1. What are the factors that influence teachers at one independent school to move to other schools? 2. What are the factors that influence teachers at one independent school to remain at this school? 3. What are the factors that influence teachers at one independent school to leave the teaching profession? Since the discussion involving independent schools has been so limited, my literature review begins with a brief overview of independent schools in the U.S. today. The literature review then provides research related to public schools to better understand the empirical research related to teacher retention. The literature review also includes studies of non-traditional public schools and independent schools. As non-traditional public schools operate similarly to independent schools, the literature served as a bridge between research on public schools and the few studies focusing on independent schools. My study is a case study of one independent school. The study includes an anonymous pre-interview questionnaire for all teachers at the school to secure a baseline for the school and to assist in determining appropriate questions for the interviews and validate the questions during the interviews with the teachers and administrators. The interviews had specific questions but allowed for answers to be explained or explored further. I interviewed six teachers who are still at the school site (stayers), six former teachers who took a job with another school (movers), and six who left the profession (leavers). The transcriptions from all the interviews were coded for themes and used NVivo 9.0 software application to assist in the qualitative analysis of the interviews. The themes were grouped and a narrative was given in regards to their relationships with the literature review. My study found teachers were most influenced by philosophical approaches, autonomy, environment, and personal reasons in their career decisions. Movers wanted to work at a school that matched either their professional philosophical approach to teaching or their personal philosophical approach on social issues. Movers were dedicated to teaching, but felt another school would better meet their current personal needs. Stayers remained at the independent school in my study due to the autonomy in their classroom. This was particularly important to teachers who had taught in public schools. All stayers stated that the school's environment was important in that it was a family-oriented setting and that it was extremely conducive for learning. All stayers in my study had always wanted to be a teacher and were committed to teaching until retirement. The leavers in my study seemed to be most influenced by either professional preferences or personal reasons outside the school's control. Three leavers loved their subject areas, but found a way to remain in the subject field but in another profession. My study suggests that independent school leaders should consider teachers who match their schools' philosophical approaches to education. This search for the right philosophical fit seemed to keep teachers or motivate movers to try another setting. Independent school leaders should consider the autonomy given to their teachers. The most attractive component for all the teachers in my study was having the autonomy in their classroom. My study suggests school leaders should foster an environment that promotes family and collegial support among administrators, teachers, students, and parents. My study also suggests that schools should consider professional opportunities for their teachers. All teachers stated that professional opportunities either did or would have a significant influence on their decisions. Finally, school leaders may be able to keep teachers if they find out why they want to teach. If it is just for the subject matter, my study suggests that's not enough to keep them, but my study found that teachers most committed to teaching had always wanted to teach, even if they chose teaching as a second career. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of education. / Fall Semester, 2011. / October 28, 2011. / teacher attrition, teacher mobility, teacher recruitment, teacher retention, teacher turnover / Includes bibliographical references. / Stacey Rutledge, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sherry Southerland, University Representative; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member; Judith Irvin, Committee Member.

Immigration is a rapidly-growing global phenomenon. Although many countries devote significant resources to investigate the outcomes of adult immigrants, both governments and researchers have given much less attention to the outcomes of younger immigrants. With this study, I aim to increase our understanding of immigrant student achievement, first through a synthesis of the existing evidence in the form of an extensive literature review, and second, through a quantitative analysis of the so-called `immigrant achievement gap'. I examine the gap for fourth graders utilizing two cross-national assessments, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) via a multilevel analysis with students nested within schools nested within countries. First, I ask whether or not a gap exists for fourth graders as it has been largely found for older students. Second, I assess whether or not existing literature provides a good guide to explain variability in the gap. Third, I delve deeper into the gap by examining sub-groups of students in order to better understand the achievement of young immigrant students. Finally, I highlight cross-national trends that emerge from the findings, as previous literature has done. I find evidence of an immigrant achievement gap for both mathematics and reading, and that existing literature provides a good skeleton by which to examine the immigrant achievement gap. Contrary to some of the existing literature, I find that the gap is larger in mathematics than in reading. Next, I find that student characteristics are strongly associated with student scores in both mathematics and reading. Findings corroborate research based on adolescent populations which suggests that, in general, students who are native, with native parents, who speak the language of testing, have better educated parents, and are of higher socioeconomic status outperform their counterparts on these standardized academic assessments. Further, I find that the immigrant achievement gap is smaller or non-existent between the highest-achieving immigrant and native students, that there is no gender gap between immigrant boys and girls, that 2nd generation immigrants outperform 1st generation immigrants, and that students who immigrated between the ages of 1-5 outperform their younger and older counterparts in mathematics, suggesting some evidence for the `vulnerable age hypothesis'. I also find evidence which suggests that immigrants attend lower quality schools, that the immigrant achievement gap is largest between the most advantaged immigrant and native students, and that there is no difference in scores among immigrant students when the gap is analyzed by the language students speak at home. Concerning the multilevel analyses, I find few school- and country-level variables predict the immigrant achievement gap significantly. Other than peer effects, no school variables predicted either outcome. Corroborating extant evidence, findings suggest that attending high-achieving schools predicts both outcomes positively and significantly. Concerning the country-level, results indicate that countries with exclusionary policies, non-traditional settlement countries, and countries that attract low-skilled immigrants tend to have larger immigrant achievement gaps. However, only exclusionary/inclusionary policy as a variable was predictive of the outcome and only for the mathematics model. Gross Domestic Product was significant in both models although the coefficient in both instances was zero. This study contributes to the current understanding of young immigrant students' achievement by providing a synthesis of the extant literature as well as by comparing their mathematics and reading outcomes to those of their native counterparts. Although the variables utilized in this study are not all-encompassing of the extensive factors that have an effect on immigrant student achievement, they do provide a well-defined picture of what is associated with mathematics and reading outcomes. This study illuminates the current understanding of a number of dimensions for young immigrants - incoming resources, race/ethnicity, gender, student attitudes, and host culture variables (e.g., institutional- and school-related variations). It corroborates many of the findings from literature based on adolescent populations, suggesting cross-national trends that span a wide age range. However, dissimilar results also suggest that fourth-grade immigrants' academic success is associated with influences that are different than those of adolescent immigrants on several dimensions. Many limitations of this study spur from the focused definition of who is an immigrant, which is only based on country of birth, and as such limits the generalizability of the conclusions. Further, the use of secondary data limits the range of variables that can be tested in the model and therefore excludes many factors that may be considered essential to include in statistical models predicting student achievement. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 1, 2012. / immigration, PIRLS, TIMSS / Includes bibliographical references. / Laura B. Lang, Professor Directing Dissertation; Carol Connor, University Representative; Jeffrey Ayala Milligan, Committee Member; Peter Easton, Committee Member; Thomas F. Luschei, Committee Member.

ABSTRACT A case-study was designed to assess the extent of change at a selected Florida community college that transformed into a state college. The purpose of the investigation was to explore how the transformation influenced institutional culture, mission, and identity based on the perceptions of faculty members and administrators. Data collection included open-ended and semi-structured interviews with faculty and administrators to ascertain their perceptions of institutional culture. Observational data were collected from the physical environment; artifacts and architecture; ceremonies and traditions, and administrative meetings to increase understanding of cultural identity. Triangulation of data integrated state, institutional, and personal document analysis with interviewing and observational methods. The research was designed to assess any shifts in institutional culture, mission, and identity through the following constructs: symbolic, organizational, perceptive, and interpretive layers of cultural meanings. The research plan was a deliberate observation of the symbolic layer of culture within a naturalistic setting, as well as an investigation of participants' behaviors for the perception layer, substantiated by an in-depth analysis of documentation on mission, vision, and policies. After deliberate observation, investigation, and inquiry into the symbolic, perceptive, and organizational layers of institutional culture, faculty and administrators were interviewed about the beliefs, values, and shared meanings on institutional identity and cultural meaning. Hence, the interpretive layer provided a comprehensive portrait of a community college that had transformed into a state college from the words of the participants. Environmental factors that contributed to the transformation of a former community college into a state college involved student demographics, economic impact, and political dynamics. With the initiative to expand access to underrepresented students, the transformation into a baccalaureate institution involved the following external influences: shifts in Florida's higher education policy, community demands, and student needs. Another research finding involved institutional mission shifting in the following ways: baccalaureate programming expanded access for students, and the college expanded its recruitment area beyond the two-county region. The findings revealed that the college preserved elements of its historical mission through a commitment to instruction, provision of a quality education, and service to the community. However, the transformation in mission resulted in misconceptions by college members as well as the larger community, for expectations exceeded opportunities provided by the institution. College members believed the college needed to remain committed to providing a quality education for everyone; however some speculated that the college mission had shifted because of the emphasis on baccalaureate education and new accreditation status. A deliberative change process was designed and implemented through leadership strategies; including a reorganization of the administrative structure, a plan to reconstruct and renovate the college campus to appear more like a university, and the development of cultural opportunities more reflective of a university environment. Although these changes occurred in rapid succession, faculty and staff reported incremental changes, thus exposing a conflict in perspective on institutional identity in which some members believed the college had experienced little change while others perceived the college moving in a new direction. Individual values included access, affordability, opportunity, commitment to the community and the student, and a quality education. Institutional values involved enhancement of student and faculty support services, technology tools, and instructional delivery methods. College administrators revised professorial rankings, emphasized rigorous academic standards, and hired PhD-qualified faculty. This cultivated a shift in faculty dynamics, creating a tension between those who had served the college community for many years and those who had recently joined the college community. Although the college preserved values fundamental to the community college mission, members continued to adjust to the new baccalaureate institutional identity. While determining their role within this new higher education tier, they experienced several challenges; including incongruence in the open enrollment mission between the associate and baccalaureate-level programming; accreditation issues concerning academic requirements and criteria; program costs and sustainability; and faculty issues. As the institution moves forward with its baccalaureate identity, it will be important to cultivate a fully developed Student Affairs Division for additional support services and cultural opportunities; design and implement dormitories for residential life; sustain and develop the Learning Technology and Learning Resources Departments; address the faculty issues of workload, salary, research, and shared governance; and develop additional four-year degree programs to expand access. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Spring Semester, 2012. / December 13, 2011. / Baccalaureate Programming, College Administration, Community College, Institutional Identity, Organizational Culture, State Colleges / Includes bibliographical references. / Joseph Beckham, Professor Directing Dissertation; Diana Rice, University Representative; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member; T. K. Wetherell, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the evolution of the federal government's role in developing policies designed to assist low-income students prepare for and enroll in college. Specifically, the study analyzed public laws beginning in 1964 with the first federal policy directed to the issue and extending thirty years to 1993. Seventy-six laws were analyzed. This study contributes to the field of higher education policy research in two ways. First, the study uses an historical evolutionary approach to describe the landscape of federal programs designed to assist low-income students prepare for and enroll in college. This study, for the first time, applies Hearn's (2001) framework of primary program vehicles, policy objectives, target populations, and delivery systems to explain the evolution of federal policy in this area over time. This study found that Congress enacted 30 primary program vehicles between 1964 and 1993. These primary program vehicles were enacted in fits and starts resulting in a proliferation of vehicles offering overlapping services. Examining the evolution of the vehicles over time shows increased Congressional attention at the end of the period covered by the study. Congress took a fragmented approach to policy objectives. This study reveals that a clear focus on access was supplemented by a focus on preparation, information, and cost. By addressing these objectives, Congress focused on the barriers – academic, social, and financial – that low-income students face in accessing higher education. Congress charted a clear path with target populations. This study found that Congressional attention slowly shifted away from low-income students between 1964 and 1993. From the mid-1960s to the 1970s, low-income students were the main target population. By the late-1970s, Congressional attention shifted to include some students who were not low-income. By the end of the period covered by the study, the focus was clearly on middle-income students. One area of relative stability was delivery systems. This study reveals that Congress primarily provided assistance through campus-oriented vehicles rather than through student-oriented vehicles. On the whole, the approach taken by Congress to the delivery systems is restrictive because it limits the choices that low-income students have in where to attend college. Although Congress attended to access, it did not maintain its commitment to assist low-income students exclusively; instead, its attention gradually shifted to middle-income students. Combining analysis of primary program vehicles, policy objectives, target populations, and delivery systems shows that Congress failed to focus enough on low-income students to close the higher education access gap for low-income students. Second, this study fills the gap in attention that has been paid to whether Congress used laws other than the Higher Education Act to address the income-based disparities in access to higher education. This study found that primary program vehicles were enacted under the Higher Education Act, the Public Health Service Act, the Economic Opportunity Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Job Training Partnership Act, and the Energy Policy Act. By including laws that were passed outside of the higher education arena, the study also reveals the way Congress has attended to the college access issue in areas such as public health, K-12 education, job training, and energy. In doing so, it shows that 46.67% of federal action around college access is addressed outside of the Higher Education Act and its reauthorizations. Finally, this study builds what is arguably the most comprehensive database of federal laws directed at college access for low-income students (Table 3.1). This study also contributes an enumeration of the primary program vehicles enacted under those laws (Tables 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4). By providing a more complete description of the actions that Congress has taken in its attempts to address the gap, this study also provides future researchers, evaluators, advocacy groups, and policymakers with fertile ground for further exploring the federal role in assisting low-income students to prepare for and enroll in college. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2015. / June 26, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references. / Lora A. Cohen-Vogel, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; David A. Tandberg, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Ralph S. Brower, University Representative; Shouping Hu, Committee Member; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member.

A review of the curriculum literature reveals historical shifts from: (a) scarcity to abundance of information; (b) from more to less centralization of curricular authority; and, (c) from the learner as a copy of the mentor toward greater individuality. These shifts make using the traditional curricular tool, the curricular canon, problematic. Two conspicuous problems are: how to clean through and organize one's extensive personal knowledge, and how to gain individual curricular freedom without abandoning the kind of formal structure traditionally provided by educational institutions. To address this dual problem, I provide philosophical underpinnings for the desirability of self-education without schooling, and then I explore what would happen if, rather than selecting topics of study based upon a socially-constructed past, the learner selects topics of study based upon their current inner culture. My central question: What kind of new curricular tool is it possible to create for making structured curricular decisions without an educational institution? To answer this question, I used an auto-ethnographic methodology that included thousands of hours of self-interviewing, personal document review, and reliance on non-verbal responses. This methodology served to create a curricular design method for making structured curricular decisions, customized to the individual rather than to society at large, and without institutional encumbrances. I describe this process for independent and authentic curricular decision-making in five steps: (1) inventorying; (2) authenticating; (3) organizing; (4) integrating; (5) curricularizing, and then present a streamlined version of this curricular tool as a potential alternative to curricular canonization. The tool is designed to obtain a curriculum that is categorically authentic to that with which the learner identifies (true to identity), aligned with the most highly prioritized values in in the learner's life (intrinsically motivating), and concentrated into topics the learner can engage in and study with a powerful sense of integrity (literally integrated). After describing this new tool, called the curricular catalogue, I discuss the ramifications of introducing a new tool to the field of education wherewith non-experts have the ability, by following a tutorial of the method, to create their own self-authenticated curriculum. These ramifications involve a paradigm shift from curricular prescription to curricular elicitation, from exclusively objective empirical concerns to both objective and subjective concerns, as well as a shift in the learning process from historic to present orientation. Research implications are discussed and the use of technology and gamification of learning are touched upon as potential means for introducing this new curricular tool. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2013. / March 25, 2013. / authentication, authenticity, curriculum, decision-making, disestablishment, self-education / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey Ayala Milligan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Tom Anderson, University Representative; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member; Judith Irvin, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to identify the leadership competencies and characteristics that are preferred by student affairs administrators, and to compare these preferences across generations to determine if there were any differences. The term preferred was used to indicate that the study asked respondents to assign a value or a level of importance to each competency, thus indicating preference. This study built on the work of McDaniel (2002) and Smith (2007). By utilizing the previously developed Higher Education Leadership Competencies (HELC) survey as the instrument, the data collected from this study has the potential to add new and valuable knowledge and insight into our current understandings of perceived leadership in the workplace, specifically the working environment of student affairs at institutions of higher education (Smith 2007). This cognitive approach to leadership perceptions highlights differences in preferences of leadership in terms of specific leadership competencies. The data reduction technique of factor analysis resulted in 10 components with correlation coefficients above .50: Organizational Behavior, Communication, External Relations, Diversity, Professionalism, Institutional Culture, Inclusiveness, Humor, Partnerships, and Technology. The top 5 ranked competency items from the HELC included: Communicates effectively, Acts consistent with core values and integrity, Learns from experience, Supports leadership of others, and Encourages professional development. The 4 most common 'greatest challenges facing higher education leaders in the next 5 years' cited by respondents related to the budget, mental health issues, technology and diversity. The ANOVA results indicated that 7 of the 10 components were found to have significant differences in means between groups: Communication, External Relations, Diversity, Professionalism, Institutional Culture, Humor and Partnerships. An ANCOVA analysis confirmed this finding while testing the variable 'years of experience' as a covariate. The research question and main hypothesis were confirmed and supported – there are significant differences in preferred leadership competencies between different generations of student affairs administrators. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2011. / December 7, 2010. / Generation, Leadership, Student affairs / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert A. Schwartz, Professor Directing Dissertation; Frances Berry, University Representative; Shouping Hu, Committee Member; Sande Milton, Committee Member; Jeff Garis, Committee Member.

Women have been underrepresented in the STEM fields since the 1650's to today (Hunter, 2005). This study examined the extracurricular participation of undergraduate women, in Fall 2009, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, who were majoring in at least one (1) of the 49 STEM majors at Southeastern State University participated in STEM extracurricular programs and if any specific program contributed to success more than other programs. A second question was whether participation in an extracurricular program(s) influenced their success. Women who were older, had been enrolled more semesters, had more credit hours, and had families with higher incomes were more likely to be involved in STEM only or STEM and Non-STEM extracurricular activities. Additionally, students who completed a high level of high school math, had a higher high school GPA, had received a regular high school diploma, and who had mothers with a higher level of education were also more likely to be involved in STEM only or STEM and Non-STEM extracurricular activities. Students who had been enrolled in college seven (7) or more semesters, who had selected their current major within their first year of college, were more likely to be involved in STEM extracurricular activities. Students believe that their STEM extracurricular involvement helps them to be successful because it provided them with student relationships, opportunity for the future, advising relationships, mentorship, and exploration of the campus and larger community. This study may be useful for student affairs professionals and academics who take an active role in serving as advisors, mentors, and providers of STEM-related opportunities. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Spring Semester, 2010. / April 1, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert A. Schwartz, Professor Directing Dissertation; Susan Blessing, University Representative; Kathy Guthrie, Committee Member; Sande Milton, Committee Member.

Across the United States, students are entering college with a need for improvement in basic mathematics and communication skills. In 2008, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 1908 which changed the expectations for the senior year of high school for many students. Students who score within certain levels on the mandatory high school assessment are administered a college placement test. For those students who do not meet the college level score identified by Florida's Board of Education, enrollment in postsecondary preparatory instruction is now mandatory. Mathematics for College Readiness is the primary mathematics course delivered to satisfy this requirement. This study analyzes the impact of Mathematics for College Readiness on postsecondary course enrollment and success. In addition to statistics describing the population, logistic regression was applied to examine which factors were likely to be related to developmental education course enrollment and postsecondary course success. A series logistic regression analyses were conducted for all students and students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. The findings indicate that taking Mathematics for College Readiness helped reduce student probability of taking developmental education courses in college, particularly for African American and Female students. Although taking Mathematics for College Readiness was not related to student passing rates in college level mathematics courses, further analyses suggests that taking a senior-year mathematics course like Mathematics for College Readiness promotes student success in college level mathematics courses, particularly when compared with students who completed Algebra II. The results from this study also confirm the disparity in college readiness along the lines of race and ethnicity and high school academic achievement as reflected in student Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores. The findings from this study have strong implications for policy and practice aiming for reducing the need of developmental education in college and for improving college readiness for high school students. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Fall Semester, 2013. / October 29, 2013. / College Readiness / Includes bibliographical references. / Shouping Hu, Professor Directing Dissertation; Vanessa Dennen, University Representative; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member; David Tandberg, Committee Member.