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Over the last few decades school accountability for student performance has become an issue at the forefront of education. The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and various regulations by individual states have set standards for student performance at both the district and individual public and charter school levels, and certain consequences apply if the performance of students in an institution is deemed unsatisfactory. Conversely, rewards come to districts or schools that perform especially well or make a certain degree of improvement over their earlier results. Albeit with certain conditions, the federal government makes additional education money available to the states under NCLB. While testing is nothing new in American public education, the concept of district/school accountability for performance is at least relatively so. In New York City, where New York State Regents Examinations (NYSRE) have been a measure of student performance for many years, scores on these tests are low, often preventing students from receiving course credit, which in turn results in failure to graduate on schedule. In addition, rates of graduation from public high schools are low. The city and state have kept data on student performance broken out by a number of factors including socioeconomic status, ethnicity, attendance, and gender which point to an achievement gap among different groups. This study investigates a series of those factors associated with the mastery of high school Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry. This study concerns itself specifically with the effect that gender, socioeconomic status, attendance, and ethnicity may have on student achievement in a mathematics course and on standardized tests, specifically the NYSRE, an annual rite of passage for students in grades 9 through 11. This research considered and ran tests on data gathered from a single large New York City high school. In this study, a 12 two-way (between-groups) univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted to assess whether there were differences in students' mathematics achievement scores by gender, ethnicity, attendance, and family socio-economic status (SES). In addition, three Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to determine whether there was a correlation among Integrated Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra II/Trigonometry unit examination scores and Regents scores. Nine Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to determine whether there was a correlation between Regents scores and mathematics achievement unit examination scores. A correlation was run between each mathematics achievement score with the Regents score from each subject. Six two-way (between-groups) ANOVA were also conducted to assess whether there were difference in students' mathematics achievement among Black males, Black females, Hispanic males, and Hispanic females. Data were gathered, merged, and transferred into a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 19.0 (IBM, 2010) for analysis. The findings indicate that attendance and family SES have a meaningful relationship to mathematics achievement in the New York City public high school which was the subject of this investigation. On the other hand, gender and ethnicity showed no relationship to students' mathematics achievement. As an implication of this research, school policies must focus more on the achievement gap of students from low-SES families and must encourage students to maintain good attendance. Students should have access to different forms of academic interventions that go beyond after-school or Saturday tutoring; academic intervention services; community counseling or mediation; or peer intervention or peer counseling through which students learn basic mathematics skills from each other to achieve college readiness.

This dissertation analyzes differences found in Spanish-speaking middle school and high school students in algebra-based problem solving. It identifies the accuracy differences between word problems presented in English, Spanish and numerically based problems. The study also explores accuracy differences between each subgroup of Spanish-speaking students in each category. It identifies specific strategies used by successful students when solving algebra problems. The study also sought to identify factors that could serve to predict Spanish-speaking students' ability to accurately solve algebra word problems presented in English and Spanish. A heterogeneous urban sample composed of one hundred and fifty two middle school and high school students were given an assessment composed of pre-approved algebra-based problems and a biographical information sheet. Specific students were then chosen for individual interviews in which researcher sought to gain more in depth information about student's reaction to assessment. The study found that the average accuracy rate for Hispanics non-ELL and non-Hispanic students was significantly higher for numerically based problems than Spanish word problems. Similarly, the average accuracy rate for Hispanics non-ELL and non-Hispanic students was significantly higher in English word problems that in Spanish word problems. Results showed that there was a significant difference in the overall performance of the assessment between Hispanic ELL and Hispanic non-ELL students. On one particular set, set C (Spanish word problems), findings showed that Hispanic ELL students performed better than Hispanic non-ELL students and non-Hispanic students. All other subgroup comparisons did not show a significant difference. The study found that students who were most successful in the assessment: (a) used previous linguistics knowledge and memory of previously seen mathematical problems properly; (b) highlighted the question being asked; (c) used key words to identify mathematical principles and to aid in the translation process; (d) used diagrams, tables and graphs to organize data; (e) showed work and had all processes laid out clearly; and (f) displayed a clear verification process for their answer as strategies for successfully answering the problems. As it was evident through the study, the diversity in the Spanish speaking population and their needs exposes the need for teaching methods, which are inclusive of all populations. Schools must be sensitive to the diversity in which students learn and aim to individualize the teaching for every student. As Hispanics become the largest minority in the United States, understanding the diverse needs of Spanish speaking students in the classroom will be necessary for the development of a better educated society.

This dissertation research focuses on assessing student behavior, academic emotions, and knowledge within a middle school online learning environment, and analyzing potential effects on students’ interests and choices related to decisions about going to college. Using students’ longitudinal data ranging from their middle school, to high school, to postsecondary years, this dissertation uses quantitative methodologies to investigate antecedents to college attendance that occur as early as middle school. The dissertation asks whether student behavior, academic emotions, and learning as early as middle school can be predictive of college attendance years later. This is investigated by developing predictive and structural models of said outcomes, using assessments of learning, emotions and engagement from student interaction data from an online learning environment they used in their middle school curriculum. The same middle school factors are also assessed with self-report measures of course choices, interests in college majors and careers formed when they were in high school. The dissertation then evaluates how student choices and interests in high school can mediate between the educational experiences students have during middle school and their eventual college attendance, to give a fuller illustration of the cognitive and non-cognitive mechanisms that students may experience throughout varied periods in school. Such understanding may provide educators with actionable information about a students’ in-depth experiences and trajectories within the college pipeline.

My dissertation examines second generation Dominican high school students and their parents in a diverse, middle-class suburb. At a moment when immigrant families are arriving directly to suburban locations, and the number of second generation immigrants in our public schools is growing, it is important to examine how they are making sense of their experiences in this new context. In my study, I consider how one sub-group of Latinx high school students, with at least one parent born in the Dominican Republic, are experiencing a new place. Specifically, I look at their experiences within their community, school and family influence their assimilation processes, their ideas about future success, and the role of education in reaching that success. I also explore how the parents’ experiences in this community inform their definitions of success for their children and the role that education plays in achieving it, and how those beliefs affect their children. I examine the parents’ accounts through in-depth interviews and the students’ accounts through pre and post in-depth interviews two years apart, as well as photo elicitation interviews. I found that the location of this suburb, adjacent to an ethnic enclave, provides a context that supports the process of selective acculturation, whereby the students are learning English and American customs while also developing and maintaining their Dominican cultural practices, including speaking Spanish. I also uncovered nuances to their understanding of the role of education in securing future success, through the use of open-ended questions. I found that the students with college-educated parents were more cautious about believing in the American Dream, and the idea that education guarantees success. Despite this, all of the families in the study approached education in similar ways, a style typically attributed to low-income families. And lastly, I found that the families lacked the social and cultural capital to gain educational advantages, specifically in the college application process. My study challenges the assumption that immigrant families arriving to middle-class suburbs are equipped to take advantage of the resources that their place of residence can afford them. Living in this type of place signals an achievement of the American Dream, but we have to question whether their children will be able to maintain it.

This dissertation is a longitudinal critical ethnographic research study that explores the experiences of four Black and Brown high school girls’ who participated in a hip-hop based science program (Science Genius program). The study employed three distinct yet aligned theoretical frameworks: - sociocultural theory, Pygmalion effect, and Black feminist theory. Given that an ethnographic study looks at the cultural patterns of a group over a period of time, this investigation spanned 2.5 years and involved explorations of the participants’ experiences with science. In addition, there are elements of autoethnography woven throughout the dissertation as my personal experiences as a Black woman in science informs both my research lens and my relationship to the research subjects (Camangian, 2010). By utilizing a qualitative methodological approach, the study gave voice to students who were racially and traditionally marginalized in science education and professions (Ceci & Williams, 2007; Emdin, 2016; Hanson, 2008; Hill, Corbett, & St. Rose, 2010; Mensah, 2012) and provided an opportunity for them to give personal accounts of their experiences in science education. The primary focus of the research involved a critical analysis of the responses of Black and Brown girls to a culturally relevant science curriculum that was based on the foundations of hip-hop pedagogy (Adjapong & Emdin, 2015; Emdin, 2010a, 2010b, 2016; Gay, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995). The findings of this study showed how the girls used the hip-hop based science program as a platform to demonstrate girl empowerment against commonplace Black and Brown girl race/gender biases in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and how they built up their confidence to exhibit their scientific knowledge while defining their scientific identities.

This case study seeks to explore three research questions: (1) What science teaching and learning processes, perspectives, and cultures exist within the science classroom of an urban portfolio community high school? (2) In what ways does the portfolio-based approach prepare high school students of color for college level science coursework, laboratory work, and assessment? (3) Are portfolio community high school students of color college ready? Is there a relationship between students’ science and mathematics performance and college readiness? The overarching objectives of the study are to learn, understand, and describe an urban portfolio community high school as it relates to science assessment and college readiness; to understand how the administration, teachers, and alumni perceive the use of portfolios in science learning and assessment; and to understand how alumni view their preparation and readiness for college and college science coursework, laboratory work, and assessments. The theoretical framework of this study encompasses four theories: critical theory, contextual assessment, self-regulated learning, and ethic of care. Because the urban high school studied partnered with a community-based organization (CBO), it identifies as a community school. Therefore, I provide context regarding the concept, culture, and services of community schools. Case study is the research design I used to explore in-depth this urban portfolio community high school, which involved mixed methods for data collection and analysis. In total, six alumni/current college students, five school members (administrators and teachers), and three CBO members (administrators, including myself) participated in the study. In addition to school artefacts and student portfolios collected, classroom and portfolio panel presentation observations and 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand the portfolio-based approach as it pertains to science learning and assessment and college science readiness. Data from the transcripts of two graduating classes were analyzed and the interview transcripts were coded and analyzed as well. Analysis of qualitative data revealed key findings: (1) the school’s Habits of Mind, authentic scientific inquiry, self-regulated learning triggers and strategies, and teacher feedback practices driven by an ethic of care supported students’ science learning and portfolio assessment; and (2) the cyclical and extensive portfolio processes of writing, revision, and submission well prepared alumni for college science laboratory work and coursework, to a certain extent, but not for the traditional assessments administered in college science courses. Analysis of quantitative data revealed that, if based solely on the City University of New York’s Regents score criteria for college readiness, the majority of students from these two graduating classes studied would not have been considered college ready even though all participants, including interviewed alumni, believed the school prepared them for college. The majority of these students, however, were transitioning to college readiness based on their Regents-level science and mathematics coursework. Findings of this study have implications for science assessment, professional development in science, education policy reform, and high school partnerships with CBOs and postsecondary institutions as they pertain to college and college science readiness for students of color in urban portfolio community high schools.

Elever som stannar hemma från skolan har uppmärksammats allt mer under de senaste åren och trots den svenska skolplikten i grundskolan och frivilligheten på gymnasiet väljer allt fler elever bort skolan. Elevhälsan har en viktig roll i att främja elevers närvaro i skolan, fokus ligger på att sätta in insatser i tidigt skede vid frånvaro. Syfte: Syfte med studien är att undersöka skolsköterskors erfarenheter av att arbeta med gymnasieelever som har långvarig ogiltig frånvaro. Metod: Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod. Studien baseras på sexton mejlintervjuer med skolsköterskor verksamma på gymnasiet och analyserades med hjälp av innebördsanalys. Resultat: Fyra innebördsteman framkom som beskriver skolsköterskornas erfarenheter av att arbeta med gymnasieelever som har långvarig ogiltig frånvaro; hälsosamtalet möjliggör att lära känna elever, att skapa en trygg relation till elever, samarbete med andra professioner och vårdnadshavare och betydelsen av rutiner för att främja elevers närvaro. Slutsats: Skolsköterskor behöver bygga upp en förtroendefull relation till elever för att en trygg relation ska uppstå. Det är viktigt att elever blir sedda och hörda på ett respektfullt sätt i mötet med skolsköterskorna så orsaker till den långvariga ogiltiga frånvaron kommer fram. / Students who stay at home from school have attracted increasing attention in recent years. Despite the Swedish compulsory school attendance in primary school and the voluntary nature of high school, more and more students give up school. Students health has an important role in promoting students school attendance, the focus is to put in effort in the early stage at absence. Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate the school nurses experience of working with high school students who have a long term absenteeism. Method: The study was conducted with a qualitative approach. The study is based on sixteen mail interviews with nurses working in high schools that were analyzed using significance analysis. Results: Four meanings were found describing the school nurses experience of working with high school students who have a long term absenteeism; the health dialogues enables to get to know the students, to achieve a safe relationship with students, cooperation with other professions and guardians and the importance of routines to promote students attendance. Conclusion: School nurses need to build a trustful relationship with students so that a safe relationship can occur. It’s important that students are being seen and heard in a respectful way, in the meeting with school nurses so that the cause of long term absenteeism appears.

Studies indicate that Latina/o immigrant youth engage in a wide range of sophisticated literacy practices outside of school that are often transnational, crossing various linguistic, cultural, and social spaces. Technology has further afforded immigrant youth the opportunity to develop transnational capabilities which are rare in the mainstream population, yet needed in the 21st century of global connectedness. However, Latino immigrant youth drop out of school at disproportional rates, suggesting that their literacy practices are not recognized or valued by the educational system. Using a New Literacy Studies perspective that recognizes multiple literacies that are meaningful within their sociocultural traditions, this collective case study investigated the range, form, and purpose of the out-of-school literacies of four Latina/o adolescent English Learners who are new arrivals. The qualitative methodology employed constructivist interviews, digital and actual artifacts, and observations. Findings demonstrated that the most prevalent out-of-school literacies the participants practice take place on the social networking site of Facebook, in their workplaces, and through the entertainment media sources of music and television. A cross-case analysis suggests that the literacy practices in these spaces have unique and purposeful roles for the individuals that allow them to connect to their home countries and maintain their Latina/o identities. Additionally, the participants use their out-of-school literacy practices to acquire English, support themselves, and establish a place to succeed. The five aforementioned spaces that their Facebook, workplace, and entertainment literacy practices fill are virtually absent from their in-school literacies. This study suggests literacy pedagogy and research must not continue to impose a narrow monolingual, monocultural, monoliterate, and monomodal view of Latina/o immigrant students which essentially divests them of their greatest resources. Their literacy practices demonstrate that they are transnational, transcultural, emergent bilinguals who competently engage in multimodal means of communication across multiple linguistic, cultural, social, and geographic borders. Educators must reconceptualize school-based literacy to account for the ways immigrant youth make meaning outside of school to provide them a more equitable education that will nurture their transnational skills needed in modern society.

Background- Bullying victimization, both physical and electronic, has been associated with health risk behaviors such as smoking and substance use; and chronic conditions such as obesity, depression and sleep disorders. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between bullying victimization and risky sexual behavior. Failure to use condom in last sexual intercourse was used as an indicator of engagement in risky sexual activities. Methods- Data from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a biennial nationally representative survey of 9-12 grade students (N=15,624) were used. After cleaning and re-coding the data set, a total of 5,037 students who reported ever having sex in their lifetime were included in the analyses. The explanatory variable included in the multiple logistic regression analysis was bullying victimization. Marijuana use and feeling of sadness or hopelessness in a row for two weeks or more during past twelvemonths were included as covariates. The analyses were adjusted for age and race, and odds ratios were stratified by gender. Results- No significant association was found between being a bullying victim at school property and not using condom in last sexual intercourse for both male (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.71-1.65) and female (OR: 0.98, 95% CI:0.65-1.47) students. This finding was consistent for both male (OR: 1.80, 95% CI: 0.89-3.65) and female (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 0.70-1.55) victims of electronic bullying. Failure to use condom in last sexual intercourse was found to be associated with male students who were sad or hopeless in a row for two weeks or more during past 12 months (OR: 1.49,95% CI: 1.13-1.96). Conclusions- Failure to use condom in last sexual intercourse was not found to be significantly associated with bullying victimization. Other risky sexual behaviors such as having multiple sex partners, use of protective methods other than condom and use of drugs or alcohol before engaging into sexual relationship should be examined in further studies.