The purpose of this project was to develop a curriculum writing guide to assist faculty at Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) with curriculum development and revision.

Studies indicate the educational needs of highly gifted students are best met through accelerated learning. It is difficult to recognize very young children that are suited for an accelerated curriculum because younger students frequently lack school records or portfolios used to identify gifted students. This study examined the accuracy of cognitive ability and achievement tests in predicting academic achievement by the end of second grade, correlating test results and final grade averages collected from sixteen children ages five to six who entered a public school program for high-ability learners in kindergarten. A multiple regression analysis indicated the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence produced the highest mean IQ score and a strong correlation with reading achievement. The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test contributed in small part to the prediction of academic achievement. The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-Second Edition had negative correlations with final grade averages, indicating they are not predictors of academic achievement for these students.

Factors other than academic ones are important in the selection of the members of any profession, and in nursing it could quite well be that those non-academic elements are rather weighted in determining the success or failure of student nurses because of the very nature of their work. This thesis will look at academic as well as other factors that may influence the success of student nurses.

The problem of this study was to determine if study habits can be used to predict academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between selected study skill habits and attitudes and achievement of secondary students in English, mathematics, and spelling. The sample for this study consisted of 82 secondary school students participating in Upward Bound programs at two universities in the north Texas area in a six week period during the summer of 1988. Eighteen different high schools were represented in the study. The sizes of the schools ranged from small to very large. Instruments used were the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes, (SSHA) the Stanford Test of Academic Skills, (TASK), and the Otis-Lennon Mental Abilities Test (OLMAT). The statistical analysis indicated that the four subscores of the SSHA are not accurate predictors of academic achievement. However, some of the correlations among the subscores for the SSHA and the TASK were significant. Most noteable of these were work methods and mathematics, teacher acceptance and mathematics, and work methods and spelling. The recommendation is made that the SSHA should not be used to predict academic achievement in Upward Bound programs. Improving study habits and attitudes should be addressed as a method of refining academic programs, not of predicting academic achievement.

This study provides a rationale for advising students on whether to enroll in individualized/self-paced computer courses. It identifies seven factors that have a significant correlation with success in an individualized computer course. The sample comprises all the students enrolled in individualized computer courses at Lee College, Baytown, Texas in the spring semester of 1988. Students completed a survey to determine whether they had previous computer experiences, whether they operated with a level of introvert personality characteristics, and whether the individualized computer course was their first choice. Students completed a learning style inventory and a score was determined using the items relating to individualized computer studies. Data collected in the Lee College records office included high school percentile rank, standardized reading score, standardized mathematics score, college hours completed, course withdrawals, and age. The following seven factors were shown by the data to have a significant correlation with a final grade (in order of decreasing significance): (a) learning style inventory, (b) high school percentile, (c) standardized mathematics score, (d) standardized reading score, (e) previous computer experience, (f) number of college hours, and (g) age. The following three factors were shown by the data to have no significant correlation with a final grade: (a) course withdrawals, (b) degree of personality introversion, and (c) the individualized computer course as first choice. The findings substantiate the hypothesis that success in an individualized computer course might be attributed to certain factors, and once identified, these factors can be used in advising students. Advisors should use as many of the seven factors (identified as significant), as possible in helping students choose between individualized and traditional computer courses.

The problem of this study was performance on selected mathematics and reading assessment tests as predictors of achievement in remedial mathematics. The purpose of the study was twofold. The first was to determine the internal consistency of a locally developed remedial mathematics placement test and the mathematics section of the Pre-TASP Test. The second was to determine the predictive validity of performance on (a) the local remedial mathematics placement test, (b) the mathematics section of the Pre-TASP Test, and (c) the Descriptive Tests of Language Skills, Reading Comprehension Test in combination with demographic variables for mid-semester achievement, end-of-semester achievement, and course success in three levels of remedial mathematics at Richland College, Dallas, Texas.

The student success rates for three developmental mathematics courses (prealgebra, elementary algebra, and intermediate algebra) taught through four instructional methods (lecture, personalized system of instruction [PSI], hybrid, and online) were examined. The sample consisted of 9,211 students enrolled in a large Texas community college from fall 2009 through spring 2011. Student success was defined as a grade of C or better. Chi-square tests were used to compare the three developmental mathematics courses success rates. Statistically significant differences in student success were found between all four methods of instruction for all three mathematics courses (prealgebra: χ2 [df = 3] = 107.90, p < 0.001; elementary algebra: χ2 [df = 3] = 88.39, p < 0.001; intermediate algebra χ2 [df = 3] = 254.18, p < 0.001). Binary logistic regression modeling was used to determine to what extent age, gender, ethnicity, residency, Pell eligibility and mode of instruction accounted for the community college students’ course success for each of the three developmental mathematics courses. For prealgebra, the independent variables of gender, race, age, residency, and mode of instruction made statistically significant contributions to the model (χ2 [df = 14, n = 1,743] = 159.196, p < .001; Nagelkerke R2 = .119), with greater success among female, White, younger, out of country students taking the course through lecture. For elementary algebra, the independent variables of race, age, residency, and mode of instruction made statistically significant contributions to the logistic regression model (χ2 [df = 14, n = 2,731] = 816.223, p < .001; Nagelkerke R2 = .358), with greater success among , younger, out of country students taking the course through lecture, hybrid or PSI. For intermediate algebra, only race and Pell eligibility made a statistically significant contribution to the logistic regression, with greater success among White, Pell-eligible students, and mode of instruction did not contribute significantly to the model (χ2 [df = 14, n = 3,936] = 53.992, p < .001; Nagelkerke R2 = .019). Recommendations for research and implications for practice are provided.

The aim of this investigation was to ascertain the impact of English language proficiency on academic success of first-year black and Indian students in human resources management at Technikon Natal. It was hypothesised that high English language proficiency may possibly predict technikon academic success. The main emphasis of the study is concerned with factors influencing the academic success of black students. The Indian cohort is used mainly as a comparison group. Comparisons with a group of black students who had completed their studies indicated that both past and present groups are essentially similar, but that the groups that had completed their studies had a slightly better overall pass rate. Comparisons with the Indian group of students enrolled for the same course indicated that the Indian group consistently out-performed their black counterparts in all aspects of academic success. The differences between the black and Indian students were such that statistically they may be regarded as two separate groups. Significantly, the Indian group exhibited superior English language proficiency levels, compared to their black counterparts. The hypothesis that English language proficiency is associated with academic success appears to be substantially correct. While traditional selection methods for entry to this course based on matriculation results produced high levels of predictability of academic success for the Indian students, this was not the case for either of the black student groups. The marks for the Indian group, both in their matriculation and matriculation English results, correlated significantly with their first technikon marks. Progressive tests in English language courses for this group (matriculation, first test and final English language marks) showed increasingly high relationships with academic success. By comparison, the matriculation and English language at matriculation results for both black groups were not significant indicators of academic success. It appears that the strongest indicator of success for the black group were the marks they obtained in the English language course at the Technikon, even though these were a weaker predictor of success when compared with the Indian group. In addition, it appears that a number of culturally based variables may act as moderating variables for both English language proficiency and academic success. / Prof. JC Welman

This mixed methods study of teachers' beliefs about Advanced Placement (AP) equity and access policies occurred in Sunshine County School District, a large south Florida school district that had received accolades for leading the nation in access and equity in AP. Drawing on social reconstructionism, this study framed AP as an acceleration mechanism with the potential to increase students' prospects for social advancement. These policies have resulted in a more diverse classroom experience through nontraditional student participation in AP courses. The purpose of this embedded case study was to examine the relationship between beliefs held by AP teachers in regard to the implementation of equity and access policies, as well as to what extent these beliefs may support or hinder the execution of such policies and procedures. The study occurred in three phases and consisted of document analysis, a survey and interviews. Surveys collected from 176 AP teachers in the district yielded quantitative data on AP teachers' beliefs regarding equity and access and the subsequent implementation of equity and access policies. Qualitative data regarding beliefs surrounding equity and access policies and the potential challenges these policies may pose were collected through open-ended survey questions, document analysis, and interviews with eight teachers at two selected high schools representing the highest and the lowest access rates to AP in the district. The findings indicated that AP teachers support equity and access policies in AP. Despite these beliefs, there is evidence that such policies are not consistently implemented across schools and particularly in STEM-related content areas. The analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data led to the conclusion that the historic tension between elitism and equity that surrounds the AP program currently is fueled primarily through state accountability measures. Implications and suggestions for future research are related to policy changes regarding the revision of the state of Florida grading system and district-level procedural changes in relation to the design of school-based professional development and development of clear AP pathways that support access among underrepresented students. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study examines the relationships among student socioeconomic status, school district enrollment, minority enrollment, district expenditure per pupil, and the teaching experience of faculty as these variables influence the achievement scores of secondary students in Texas. Data from a total of 1,061 Texas school districts were used to determine the effects of the indicated district-level predictor variables on three criterion variables: reading, mathematics, and writing scores for the 11th-grade Texas Education Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS). The study led to the following conclusions: 1. Low socioeconomic status of students in Texas, as in the rest of the United States, insures that test scores will be lower if all other variables are held constant. 2. Large minority populations are strong predictors of low test scores, especially in mathematics and reading. 3. Students in districts whose faculty had a high average of years of teaching experience also scored high in achievement tests, especially in mathematics and writing. 4. High average district expenditure per pupil predicts high test scores, especially in reading. 5. School district size or enrollment has low predictive value of test scores. Among several specific recommendations, this study advises that further study be done concerning the most effective ways to educate minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged student populations. The study also recommends that better ways be found to retain experienced teachers in the classroom, including monetary compensation, extra allowances for staff development, and additional resources. The study cautions against simply adding money to a district's budget to increase student achievement scores, asserting that districts should make thorough studies before higher expenditures per pupil are alone used to increase test scores.