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The purpose of this study was to examine the claim that 70 to 90% of youth ministry participants abandon the church after high school graduation. Chapter 1 examines the current statistics related to the church retention of young adults. The research questions used to guide the study are introduced. In order to accomplish the goal of the study, Shields' Youth Ministry Retention Questionnaire (YMRQ) was used to compare the youth ministry commitment of Christian high school graduates with their current levels of church involvement. Chapter 2 reviews the critical literature to this study. The issues of the role of church and the calling for Christians to be together, understanding who is defined as a young adult, and Protestant schooling in America are explored. Chapter 3 describes the process by which the data for this study was gathered. Graduates from the four types of Christian high schools (covenantal independent, covenantal church-related, open-admission independent, and open-admission church-related) were invited to participate in the YMRQ survey. All of the respondents were graduates of ACSI member schools. Chapter 4 reports the analysis of the data from the completed surveys. The data was analyzed using Chi-Square tests and ANOVA tests to determine the statistical significance between the two variables. For all levels of youth ministry commitment, these young adults maintained a low to high level of involvement with a church after graduating high school. Bridging the language of statistics and the language of the practice of youth ministry, a clearer retention rate of Christian school graduates is 82.9%. This percentage represents those students in the moderate and high levels of church engagement as young adults. The final chapter presents the conclusions based on the findings of this study. Any variances in the data and the reasons for their existence are also explored. Based on the results of the research, applications are made for Christian schooling and local church youth ministry.

This multi-faceted study of dual credit programs in Texas was motivated by perceived discrepancies in dual credit data reporting and a lack of comprehensive, statelevel information about dual credit student populations and coursework patterns. Using a P-16 framework, the author explored alignment issues that influence the delivery of dual credit programs and the tracking of dual credit participants in Texas. A review of dual credit partnership agreements between high schools and colleges, an analysis of dual credit course crosswalks, interviews with secondary and postsecondary dual credit coordinators, and a cross-agency analysis of state-level dual credit data provided insight into data and program alignment concerns. These research efforts informed the construction of a database of 2004-2007 Texas public high school graduates who took dual credit courses while in high school. Demographic differences and college outcomes were analyzed for the full cohort and cohort subpopulations. Two ANOVAs were used to explore differences in the number of dual credit courses students took and freshman college GPA by several demographic and outcome variables. Study results showed regional differences in dual credit coursetaking patterns and differences in student populations who took academic dual credit courses, non-academic dual credit courses, and both types of courses. Longitudinal data revealed differences in dual credit coursetaking populations over time, including growth in the number of economically disadvantaged and underrepresented minority students who took advantage of dual credit opportunities. Study findings emphasized the value of improving dual credit data reporting and course alignment practices. Important state-level goals were identified as ensuring: that students have access to rigorous, quality programs; that educators and policy-makers have access to accurate data; and that dual credit partnerships maintain the flexibility to innovate and respond to student needs while preserving program quality and equity. / text

The educational plans of black high-school seniors over the past decade were examined and compared to the plans of white students by analyzing selected base-year data from The National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 and High School and Beyond: A National Longitudinal Study for the 1980s. Chi-square was used to detect significant changes between survey years. Expectations to participate in post-secondary education were essentially the same for all black and white seniors between 1972 and 1980 though black expectations were greater. Among whites, women exceeded men in 1980. When levels of educational expectation were examined, significant differences were apparent for both races. Large declines occurred in the four-year college category though they were partially offset by increases in the graduate school category. Small increases also occurred among both blacks and whites in the community college category. No clear trends were seen in the vocational school category. Black expectations were greater than those of whites in the combined upper two categories with the most striking difference seen among low-aptitude and low-SES students. Immediate plans for two- or four-year college attendance changed significantly for both blacks and whites with more students indicating four-year preference in 1980. Overall, more blacks than whites planned four-year attendance in both survey years and the largest differences between races were found on the low- and middle-aptitude levels. Preferences for planned field of study also changed for both blacks and whites between survey years. The largest increase for both races occurred in the business category, with the next largest expansion appearing in engineering. The largest decreases occurred in education and the social sciences, with the downturn being greater among blacks than whites. Black and white seniors in the middle and upper-aptitude levels were more likely to select the biological and physical sciences, engineering, and social sciences while low-aptitude seniors were more likely to choose vocational studies, health-related studies, and education.