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In this paper, I describe the academic dilemma experienced by Tamara (pseudonym), a mathematically high-achieving high school sophomore. Raised in an economically strapped neighborhood, Tamara had the opportunity to attend a prestigious private high school, tuition free. Confronted by being viewed as an affirmative action student Tamara uses this negative stereotype as an extra source of motivation to achieve high marks on the admissions test. A new framework explains Tamara's reaction to this situation that I call stereotype management (McGee & Martin, 2011b). Stereotype management describes the range of strategies and various forms of individual agency that high-achieving Black students employ to reduce the academic impact of demeaning stereotypes while maintaining high standards of achievement. For Tamara, however, her high test score and ability to achieve in the face of being stereotyped was bittersweet, as she examined the potency and permanence of being perceived as less than. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the influence of high school science class size on students' achievement in introductory college science courses and on the variation of teacher practice across class size. Surveys collected information about high school science class experiences from 2754 biology, 3521 chemistry, and 1903 physics students across 36 public and 19 private institutions from 31 different states. The first analysis includes a cross-tabulation of 6 different class sizes and the frequencies of teacher practices reported by students. The second analysis includes a multiple linear regression of class size and student achievement. Results show no differences for pedagogy and student achievement until class sizes fall to 10 or fewer students. These findings suggest that incremental reductions in class size are likely not to have a significant impact on later student achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses multilevel modeling to examine a subset of the highest performing 9th graders and explores the extent that achievement gaps in math widen for high performing African American and Latino students and their high performing White and Asian peers during high school. Using nationally representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), this study aims to address three research questions: 1) To what degree does the achievement gap widen between different ethnic groups during high school; 2) To what extent can a widening achievement gap be explained by individual and school characteristics of students?; and 3) To what extent are the effects of various factors on achievement moderated by race/ethnicity? The study finds that factors such as advanced course placement and socio-economic status (both individual and school SES) explain away the gap for high achieving Latino 11th graders and some of the gap for African American 11th graders while student background explains away the large advantage for Asian 11th graders. Notably, the effect of math efficacy on math achievement is shown to vary by race/ethnicity. This study has important implications for post-secondary opportunities for high-achieving African American and Latino students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this case study was to discover the critical attributes of a student achievement program, known as "Think Gold," implemented at one urban comprehensive high school as part of the improvement process. Student achievement on state assessments improved during the period under study. The study draws upon perspectives on motivation as a lens for understanding the attributes of the program. The theoretical framework guiding this study emerged from a convergence of literature on high school improvement and studies on the use of extrinsic motivation to promote student achievement. These studies revealed a gap between the goals promoted for improved student outcomes and the performance results from non-consequential, large-scale assessments. Data sources included structured interviews with school personnel and students, achievement data from 2009-2011, and survey results, which were analyzed to construct a case narrative. Critical attributes of the achievement program were distilled, including the differentiated incentive system, sustainability, and personalized meaning for students between state assessments and their decision-making. This study is not an evaluation of the program, but the discussion offered of the use of extrinsic motivation to promote student achievement may prove beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study of adolescent boys' literacy builds on motivation theory and uses the Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (Wigfield, Guthrie, & McGough, 1996) as a foundation. Survey and achievement data were collected from 330 students and eight teachers at a Catholic, all-boys high-school. Results suggest that the motivational constructs identified by Wigfield and colleagues for elementary students remain relatively intact with this sample, but that some motives for reading may change over time. For teachers, believing a student was a good reader was related to beliefs that the student read the assignments; believing that a student should try harder was related to beliefs about knowing what that student struggles with in class. Several modest relationships between questionnaire responses and student achievement scores were also found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research examining the correlates of academic achievement is immense. In particular, scores of studies have examined individualand family-level variables that influence student achievement. Based upon Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological theory of human development, this study extends one step beyond previous studies and incorporates school-level characteristics into an investigation of the factors that influence adolescents' academic achievement. Using regressionbased techniques that account for withinschool clustering of students, this research examined the extent to which individual-level and school structural variables predict academic achievement among a sample of 10th grade African American students abstracted from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) database. The results suggest that individual-level predictors, such as student effort, parent-child discussion, and associations with positive peers, play a substantial role in increasing students' achievement. Further, the results also suggest that school climate, in particular the sense of school cohesion felt by students, teachers, and administrators, is important to successful student outcomes. Given these findings, the author suggests that an ecological approach which encompasses individual-, family-, and schoollevel variables be considered when examining predictors of academic achievement. Also, policy and interventions aimed at improving academic achievement need to take into consideration the impact of individual-level and school structural factors on students and their ability to succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explains the academic achievement of African Americans from the perspective of culture. Definition of culturalizing instruction; Implications of culturalizing instruction on good teaching; Core values of characteristic of mainstream U.S.

Deals with a study which examined the difference in the educational performance of athletes and nonathletes in the North Carolina high schools from 1993-1996. Use of paired t-tests and a Bonferroni Correction; Comparison of the grade point average, attendance, discipline referrals, dropout rate, and graduation rate; Discussion.

Presents a causal model about the determinants of academic achievement throughout the first year in the secondary school. Individual variables taken into account in the research of personal determinants of academic achievement; Influence of the instructional factor to the regulative features which directly affect final achievement.