scholarly journals Project Accelerate (3-Year Review): Closing the Access Gap to Physical Science Careers and Academic Programs

10.29007/g3pg ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Greenman ◽  
Andrew Duffy

Project Accelerate is a National Science Foundation funded program providing access to a rigorous introductory college level College Board Advanced Placement physics course to students attending high schools where this opportunity is not part of the regular high school program of study. High schools in the United States not offering this opportunity in general are either small rural schools or high schools in districts serving a larger than average proportion of economically disadvantaged families. Students in Project Accelerate do as well on the AP exam as their peer groups enrolled in traditional AP® Physics 1 classrooms. In addition, students in Project Accelerate show a marked increase in interest in pursuing post high school academic programs in science.

2011 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 1435-1476
Author(s):  
Matthew Militello ◽  
Jason Schweid ◽  
John Carey

Background/Context Today we have moved from the debate of student opportunity to post-secondary educational setting to 100% access. That is, today's high school settings have been charged with preparing “college ready” graduates. Educational policy has leveraged mandates and sanctions as a mechanism to improve college placement rates, especially in high schools with a high percentage of low-income students. However, little empirical evidence exists to assist us in understanding how college readiness is actualized for low-income students. Focus of Study The purpose of this study was to identify specific strategies that schools employ to raise college application and attendance rates for low-income students. Research Design This study investigated 18 College Board Inspiration Award winning or honorable mention high schools across the United States. Phone interviews with all 18 schools informed the selection of five case study high schools. Data collection included interviews and observations with high school educators, parents, students, and other community members. Findings In this study, we describe evidence within and across the five case schools using a framework that was generated from the first phase of this study. These schools effectively improved college readiness by developing collaborative practices around: (1) Program Management, (2) External Partnerships, (3) Leadership, (4) College-focused Intervention Strategies, (5) Achievement-oriented School Culture, (6) Parental Outreach, (7) Systemic, Multileveled Intervention Strategies, (8) Use of Data, (9) Development and Implementation of Inclusive School Policies, and (10) Routinizing or Offloading Routine or Mundane Tasks. Conclusions/Implications This study operationalizes what effective practices look like in high schools with low-income students. The findings move beyond normative models to be implemented across sites to illustrations of exemplar practices that can guide collaborative efforts to enact the specific tasks necessary to improve college readiness for students.


SAGE Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401668299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell T. Warne

With more than 3 million participants per year, the Advanced Placement (AP) program is one of the most popular programs in the United States for exposing high-achieving high school students to advanced academic content. Sponsored by the College Board, the AP program provides a framework in which high school teachers can teach introductory college-level courses to high school students. These students then take one of 34 standardized tests at the end of the year, and students who score well on their course’s AP test can receive college credit from their university in which they later enroll. Despite the popularity of the AP program, remarkably little independent research has been conducted on the academic benefits of AP. In this article, I summarize the state of knowledge about the academic benefits of AP. Previous research and descriptive data indicate that AP students outperform non-AP students on a variety of academic measures, but many other aspects of the program are poorly understood, partially due to variability across AP subjects. These aspects include the causal impact of AP, which components of the program are most effective in boosting academic achievement, and how students engage with the AP program. I also conclude by making suggestions for researchers to use new methodologies to investigate new scientific and policy questions and new student populations to improve the educational scholars’ and practitioners’ understanding of the AP program.


Author(s):  
Michael McDonald ◽  
◽  
Yulei Pang

This paper will discuss the correlation between the SAT and the Math Inventory Test. Many school districts adopted the Math Inventory as a tool to measure student growth from grades kindergarten through high school. The Math Inventory is a computer-administered test that gives students math problems spanning from counting to high school level math. When completed, the students are given a quantile measure, much like a Lexile score for reading skill. The purpose of this study is to figure out if success on the Math Inventory is a good indicator for performing well on the SAT. For most high schools around the United States, objectives and lessons are aligned with those of the SAT. The goal of high school teachers is for students to excel on the SAT so that they can go to college, which means the tests used in middle school should be aligned with that goal. If the Math Inventory is not, then it might not be a very good use of school time and resources. Data was analyzed from the 2017-2018 school year from ten different high schools in an urban school district to determine the correlation between Math Inventory score, and the math score/sub scores of SAT/PSAT. The value of the Pearson’s correlation coefficient is used to suggest a fairly moderate positive relationship between these two variables.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-202
Author(s):  
Christy Groves

Purpose A large, predominantly undergraduate university in Tennessee partnered with a local magnet school aiming to assist high school seniors with their college-level research assignment. The partnership began as a pilot, but quickly expanded to include other high schools as a result of initial successes. This paper aims to describe the development of the partnership and its importance in fulfilling a key component of college preparedness for gifted high school students. Design/methodology/approach This paper describes how the Library partnership commenced as a service to a local high school that required its students to access college-level research materials. The paper details how both the Library and the high school recognized the impact of collaborating to expose these students to the information literacy skills needed for college readiness. Findings The paper presents the challenges encountered when attempting to provide college-level information literacy instruction to large groups of students visiting a college campus. It concludes with best practices and lessons learned, as well as plans for formal assessment and future initiatives. Originality/value The author has presented at Library Instruction West, July 2018. A review of the professional literature demonstrates that other academic libraries have partnered with local schools for a variety of library-related initiatives. Therefore, the concept of partnerships between the Library and local high schools is not unique. However, this paper aims to describe challenges encountered, best practices, lessons learned and suggestions for future directions, including formal assessment, all of which could be adapted by other academic libraries as applicable.


Medicina ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (10) ◽  
pp. 488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha E. Scarneo-Miller ◽  
Benjamin Saltzman ◽  
William M. Adams ◽  
Douglas J. Casa

Background and objectives: Exertional heat stroke (EHS) continues to be a prevalent health issue affecting all athletes, including our pediatric populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a state policy requirement for EHS prevention and treatment on local high school policy adoption in the United States (US). Materials and Methods: Athletic trainers (ATs) from high schools across the US participated in an online survey (n = 365). This survey inquired about their compliance with nine components of an EHS policy which was then compared to their state requirements for the policies. Evaluation of the number of components adopted between states with a requirement versus states without a requirement was conducted with a Wilcoxon Sign Rank test. Finally, an ordinal logistic regression with proportional odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were run to determine the effect of a state requirement and regional differences on the number of components adopted. Results: ATs working in states with a requirement reported adoption of more components in their heat modification policy compared to states that did not require schools to develop a heat modification policy (with requirement mean = 5.34 ± 3.68, median = 7.0; without requirement mean = 4.23 ± 3.59, median = 5.0; Z = −14.88, p < 0.001). ATs working in region 3 (e.g., hotter regions) reported adopting more components than those in region 1 (e.g., cooler regions) (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.215–4.201, p = 0.010). Conclusions: Our results demonstrate a positive association between state policy requirements and subsequently increased local policy adoption for EHS policies. Additionally, the results demonstrate that regional differences exist, calling for the need for reducing disparities across the US. These findings may imply that policy adoption is a multifactorial process; furthermore, additional regional specific investigations must be conducted to determine the true determinants of high school policy adoption rates for EHS policies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 232596711986250
Author(s):  
Nathaniel S. Jones ◽  
Kyle Wieschhaus ◽  
Brendan Martin ◽  
Pietro M. Tonino

Background: High school sports participation in the United States has increased dramatically over the past 25 years. A corresponding increase in the number of injuries has been noted, particularly in contact sports such as football. This has led medical and sports organizations nationwide to advocate for proper medical supervision of athletes at games and practices. Purpose: To gather information from Chicago public high schools to gauge how medical supervision for high school sports has changed in 2017 compared with 2003. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Survey questionnaires were sent to the athletic directors of all 99 Chicago public high schools to complete via email. The questionnaire survey contained the same questions as in a survey conducted in 2003 by Tonino and Bollier, with the addition of 4 novel questions relating to emergency action plans (EAPs), automated external defibrillators, concussion management policy, and tackling progression drills. Results: The response rate was 66.67% (66/99 schools). Of the 66 responding schools, all with football programs, no school had a physician on the sideline at home games (decrease from 10.6% in 2003), 37.9% had an athletic trainer present (increase from 8.5% in 2003), and 63.6% had a paramedic available (decrease from 89.4% in 2003). In 2017, 65.6% of responding schools had a coach certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) available at practice to handle medical problems, compared with 89.4% in 2003 ( P < .001). Regarding the 4 novel questions, 93.9% of the responding schools had proper tackling progression drills in place, followed by 89.1% who had appropriate EAPs and 93.9% with concussion management protocols, including return-to-play and return-to-learn protocols. Conclusion: Although significant improvement was found in athletic trainer coverage, especially at games, physician coverage was lacking and fewer coaches were certified in CPR in 2017 compared with 2003. EAPs and concussion management protocols were present in most Chicago public high schools. Overall, greater medical supervision is needed, which we believe should come in the form of increased athletic training and physician involvement and coverage, given that expert, expedited medical care saves lives.


2017 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 8-12
Author(s):  
Robert L. Hampel

The dividing line between high school and college has never been entirely clear, explains a historian of American education. In fact, for most of the 19th century, it was difficult to distinguish between high schools and colleges. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that high school and university officials drew firm boundaries between the two institutions, and even then, it remained hard to distinguish between high school and college-level work. Moreover, there are some benefits to blurring the boundaries, the author argues, pointing to current efforts to promote dual enrollment, early colleges, and other efforts to blend the high school and college


1996 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. 758-768
Author(s):  
Steven L. Kramer

Block scheduling is not a new phenomenon. It has been widely used in British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta since the 1970s. In the United States, block schedules have become increasingly popular throughout the 1990s, and currently they are spreading to high schools in many regions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-32
Author(s):  
Isabelle Cherney ◽  
Laura Douglas ◽  
Ellen Fischer ◽  
Russell Olwell

Urban and Metropolitan Colleges and Universities often serve a population that can benefit from an early college strategy. Colleges serving first-generation and low-income students often have lower retention and graduation rates than their peer institutions, as students from large urban public high schools can struggle to navigate the college classrooms and support system. While students may have achieved respectable GPAs and test scores in their high school buildings, they can fail to translate these skills at the college level, finding themselves on academic probation or worse. As researcher Anthony Jack has described in his landmark study, The Privileged Poor, students coming from large, urban districts are doubly disadvantaged by their experiences in schools; the skills that have allowed these students to get through their high schools are counterproductive at the college level (Jack, 2019).             Using an evidence-based approach, programs being launched now by colleges and universities focus on the core missions of early college and dual enrollment programs, connecting youth less likely to attend college directly out of high school with powerful programming that propels them towards successful completion of degrees and to the start of their career. This article presents perspectives from a range of institutions (high school, two-year institutions, four-year institutions, and philanthropic investors) that are rethinking these models to maximize community impact and affordability to students and families.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 325-329
Author(s):  
Lauren N. Maziarz ◽  
Joseph A. Dake ◽  
Tavis Glassman

In the United States, sex education in schools varies significantly across districts. Many schools operate without state-guided health education curricula, leaving decisions up to individual districts. The purpose of this study was to explore what type of sex education is being offered in U.S. high schools in addition to assessing the frequency of condom access and contraceptive referral. A total of 772 high school superintendents were surveyed with a response rate of 40.4% ( n = 297). Data show most districts teach comprehensive sex education (63%), while only 7% of districts offer condoms to high school students. Twenty-nine percent of superintendents reported their district refers out for contraceptive services to a variety of agencies. School nurses can use this information to inform health policy discussions in their district as well as advocate for awareness among district officials regarding existing health service offerings.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document