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Knowledge of core academic vocabulary plays a major role in many gate keeping tests for higher education and is critical to successful academic performance. While researchers have described the linguistic characteristics of academic language use from a variety of perspectives, including the use of academic vocabulary, many of the investigations focus on the texts that students are exposed to or discuss how to teach those words. Yet, relatively few studies explore how students actually use these words in their scholarly papers. The goal of the present study is to investigate academic vocabulary use by non-native English speaker writers situated in a higher educational classroom setting. First, we explore relationships between the amount of academic vocabulary employed and the perceived quality of student writing. Second, we examine differences in the use of academic words across assignments, drafts, and levels of instruction. Results showed significant relationships between academic vocabulary use and essay scores in some text-types, and differences in the way academic vocabulary is used across text-types and levels of instruction, independent of the drafts. A closer analysis showed that rhetorical purposes have a strong impact on the amount of academic vocabulary used. Also, no difference between drafts calls for pedagogical considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Findings highlight the importance of peer support and the possibility of participatory research approaches in catalyzing peer connectivity and agency among foster scholars in higher education. • Actions and advocacy associated with Participatory Action Research have benefits for students with foster care experience and can contribute to critical consciousness raising among those within and outside of child welfare and university systems. • Integrating youth voice and perspective to our existing body of knowledge about youth with foster care experience in higher education adds a critical, often missing perspective. • Universities, child welfare system professionals, policymakers, child welfare scholars desiring to create policy and practice more affirming of young people with foster care experience should center the voices and recommendations of youth with foster care experience in their decision making. This paper presents findings from a focus group conducted as part of a larger Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) study with a cohort of university students with experience in foster care. Six foster scholars (ages 18–21) participated in a research collective offered as a collaboration between the School of Social Welfare and the Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) at a large Northeastern public research university. Over the course of several semesters, students received an overview of research methods, evaluated existing research regarding the educational outcomes of youth with foster care experience, then designed an interview guide for a focus group that they later participated in. Focus group data was transcribed and then analyzed in two ways, first through thematic content analysis using ATLAS TI qualitative software, and simultaneously through participatory narrative analysis using an adapted version of Carol Gilligan's Listening Guide. The cluster of findings presented in this paper highlights co-researchers' experiences of a YPAR approach to research. Three themes emerged: validation of experience and peer support , connection to available resources, and YPAR as a tool of collective action and empowerment. An overview of the significant actions and change efforts associated with the YPAR process is also provided. Findings highlight the importance of peer support and the possibility of participatory research approaches in catalyzing peer connectivity and agency among foster scholars in higher education. Integrating youth voice and perspective to the existing body of knowledge about youth with foster care experience in higher education adds an important perspective needed to more holistically understand what resources and supports are most critical in ensuring their success. Recommendations are made for both universities and child welfare scholars desiring to center the voices and experiences of youth with foster care experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Protocol of exploratory longitudinal RCT investigating standing effects on learning. • Comparison of learning performance between sitting and standing tutorials. • Learning operationalized as discussion quality, concept test scores, and exam grade. • Secondary outcomes: change in physical activity patterns, attendance, and affect. • The multifaceted learning process in a real-world educational setting is addressed. Standing classrooms could potentially counteract excessive sedentary behavior. This paper describes the protocol for an exploratory longitudinal randomized controlled trial aimed at studying the effects of standing during tutorials on learning in undergraduate students. Learning is operationally defined as the use of interactions that are conducive to learning and an improved performance on concept tests. Final examination scores are also used as a measure of learning performance. The secondary aim is to explore the unintended effects of standing tutorials through the students' subsequent physical activity, tutorial attendance, and affect. Participants were randomly recruited to a sitting or standing tutorial for nine weeks. This study addresses learning in a real-world setting and reveals insights on the effects of standing on learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of student loans on students' (financial) behavior. For causal identification, we exploit quasi-experimental evidence using a nudge in the take-up of student loans in higher education in the Netherlands. We estimate an instrumental variable (IV) model with a first-stage Difference-in-Differences design. We find that a decline in the default student loan reduced monthly student borrowing by 141 euros. A one-euro decline in student loans reduced students' expenditures by 61 cents, but also led to a substantial increase of parental financial contributions (43 cents). Especially expenditures on leisure activities were affected. There is no evidence for increased labor earnings among students, on average. Self-reported indicators of academic performance do not worsen in response to the reform; students' GPA even improves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graduation rate is often used as indicator of efficiency and accountability of higher education institutions. However, its official and academic use entails pitfalls, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Based on evidence from Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique, this paper contributes to the academic and policy debate on graduation rates in SSA, by using logistic regression analysis to measure and explain this indicator. The paper’s findings are twofold: (i) graduation rates at UEM (and eventually in SSA) may be different from what their misleading measurement and usage may portray; (ii) graduation rates are particularly affected by the academic aspects of students and the institution. The paper claims that rigor is needed to produce data (e.g. graduation rates) on African universities to strategically inform decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies often associate endogamy with lower academic performance. Alternatively, external exposure seems to be correlated with higher research quality. Consequently, when measuring the effects of endogamy, authors should account for academic inertia as well as the different types of mobility. In this study, a large longitudinal database on the Brazilian higher education system is used to measure the effects of endogamy and mobility on scientific production. This paper examines whether types of scholars–such as those who never leave their doctoral institution or those that have some experience elsewhere, especially abroad, show differential results. Furthermore, it measures the changes in scholars' productivity when controlling for the distinct types of academic mobility throughout their careers. Results suggest that information about how mobile an academic is before and during its career is relevant when estimating the effects of endogamy on academic productivity and international academic experiences are correlated with higher likelihood of publishing. • A large longitudinal database on the Brazilian higher education system is used to measure the effects of endogamy and mobility on scientific production. The paper measures the changes in scholars' productivity when controlling for the distinct types of academic mobility throughout their careers. • Results suggest that information about how mobile an academic is before and during its career is relevant when estimating the effects of endogamy on academic productivity and international academic experiences are correlated with higher likelihood of publishing at more prestigious journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We analyze the inequality of opportunities at two successive levels of education. • Inequality of opportunity in Colombia persists from secondary to undergrad studies. • Students' predetermined circumstances increasingly affect their performance. • Finishing undergrad faster mitigates part of the initial inequalities. Abstract Education is an instrument for citizens to improve their welfare and income, but opportunities to access and attain education are unequally distributed. This paper analyzes how predetermined characteristics affect students' achievement in two standardized tests, one taken at the end of their secondary education (between 2000 and 2007) and the other when finishing their undergrad studies (2011). The results, using data from Colombia, indicate that the inequality of educational opportunities at both levels of education has increased over time, but that students who finish their undergrad studies in less time manage to mitigate part of the inequality of opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper investigates the way a postgraduate student on an MA TESOL programme at a UK university constructed summative and formative messages from the written feedback she received on her first assignment, and the extent to which those messages corresponded with marker intentions. The study concludes that the participant was able to construct appropriate summative and formative messages with regard to aspects of her written expression such as lexical choice but showed limited ability to construct summative or formative messages from feedback concerned with argument, analysis or task achievement. The study highlights the importance of shared understandings; of making explicit the formative messages embedded within summative feedback; of the need to embrace a conception of feedback as dialogue rather than monologic telling; of issues of power, and of the need to empower students to seek out and negotiate rather than passively receive feedback; and of the need to understand the production and consumption of feedback within a wider context of affordances and constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Applicants from wealthy households have an advantage in terms of access to higher education through a higher level of investment in pre-entry coaching. • There are positive and significant relationships between the level of income and USE results for high school graduates, given equal achievement before coaching. • In general, investment in pre-entry coaching has positive returns, but the most significant type of investment is pre-entry courses. • Investment in pre-entry courses improves USE results only for students from the most affluent households. Abstract This paper examines the impact of family income on the results of the newly introduced Unified State Examination (USE) in Russia. We argue that entrants from wealthy households have an advantage in terms of access to higher education, since income positively affects USE scores through a higher level of investment in pre-entry coaching. We have found positive and significant relationships between the level of income and USE results for high school graduates, given equal achievement before coaching. We demonstrate that in general, investment in pre-entry coaching has positive returns, but the most significant type of investment is pre-entry courses. However, such strategy improves USE results only for students from the most affluent households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The need to look more deeply into the relationships between the competences. • Competences in communication are critical between university training and market demands. • Competences in communication are key in competence training. Abstract The educational model based on competences established under the unifying framework of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), has brought new challenges and threats for educational institutions at university level, who now have to adapt, update and face up to this new educational paradigm. This paper addresses the competences from two different perspectives; the first relating to the level reached by the student through university training received; and the second concerning the level required by labour market in the profession studied. The empirical analysis was performed using nonparametric statistics on a sample of 236 individuals, following the methodology of the Tuning project. The results support the existence of differences between the two blocks of analysed competences, as well as the importance of communication competences and the relationships of competences related to communication with all other competences with highest differences. This point to a course of action based on these competences, especially communication competences, as a way for working on improving the competence results in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we seek to contribute to the post-2015 education agenda by shifting the focus from considerations of what education goals and targets should be to a people-centred exploration of enabling environments, within and beyond education, for equity, access and quality. Theoretically, the paper draws on the capabilities approach. Empirically, we present data from two independent qualitative studies conducted in South Africa (n = 40) and Tanzania (n = 10) with university students who accessed higher education despite trends of low participation for their social class and/or gender. The paper highlights the importance of taking account of both instrumental and intrinsic values of education. Enablers in the domains of school, family and community are identified and their contribution to educational well-being and achievement are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of schools can be defined and measured as the ratio between the outputs produced (for example, achievement and competences) and the inputs utilized (human and technical resources). Technology holds the promise of increasing the efficiency of schools' operations, although empirical evidence on this is still scarce. This paper explores whether the ICT availability and use in 2757 schools from 10 Latin American countries are associated with higher efficiency, relying on PISA 2018. A method based on a double-bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is employed. The results highlight that the availability of ICT is positively correlated with higher school efficiency. This evidence is relevant for policy implications in setting the post-COVID priorities for educational systems in the region. • We employ the PISA (2018) for the Latin American region and DEA. • We study the impact of ICT access and its use on school efficiency in the region. • We find a level of inefficiency for the region of around 25%, with a high degree dispersion. • We find that the degree of access of ICT matters for efficiency more than ICT use. • The impact of level of ICT use on efficiency is more nuanced varying across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a six-year study (2005–2010) tracking a cohort of students from Grade 12 into and through the South African higher education (HE) system. The study sought to ascertain how the pathways of students from different socioeconomic backgrounds differed. Key findings were that socioeconomic status is a differentiating feature in student progression through and retention within HE and in completion of HE programmes. Confirming UK and US findings, the study simultaneously points up the need for further research locating student progression and performance within a broader developmental context that takes account of learning pathways from pre-school into HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper applies the recently developed construct of the Cognitive Discourse Function (CDF) in the context of student writing at tertiary level, using it to explore differences in exam performance between high and low-level answers, and between L1 (Spanish) and L2 (English) classrooms. We analyse the exam answers from two Business Administration cohorts (n = 30) at a large Spanish university who had taken the same content course with the same teacher in one of the two languages. Results suggest that the high-level exams, whether in Spanish (L1) or in English (EMI), succeeded in providing explicit responses to the combination of DESCRIBE-CLASSIFY and DESCRIBE-EXPLAIN CDFs requested in the exam questions. In contrast, the low-level exams usually failed to make meaningful and overt connections between the CDFs activated and their linguistic realisations, irrespective of the language used. These findings suggest that while academic literacy may be less developed in students' L2, it should be systematically addressed in both learning contexts. In our conclusions, we evaluate how the CDF construct sheds light on language demands in specific content areas, we argue for its utility in EMI settings, and we make some concrete pedagogical recommendations to scaffold student writing and increase content specialists’ language awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examine the implications of college admissions criteria on students' outcomes. • Examine admissions at a large university with two admission tracks. • Regular admission track is based exclusively on academic performance while discretionary track considers non-academic qualities. • Discretionary admission students enjoy significantly higher earnings compared to marginal group of regular admission students. • Earnings advantage persists up to three years after graduation. This paper examines the implications of college admissions criteria on students' academic and non-academic performance in university and their labor market outcomes. We exploit a unique feature of the admissions system at a large university in Singapore, the National University of Singapore, that has two admission tracks – a regular admission track where admission is based exclusively on academic performance and a discretionary admission (DA) track where applicants can instead gain admission on the basis of demonstrated non-academic qualities. Comparing students admitted through each track, we find that DA students fare similarly in terms of academic performance in university as marginal students admitted through the regular route. However, they are significantly more likely to be involved in optional academic and non-academic college activities and earn substantially higher labor market earnings up to three years after graduation. These results are not driven by the DA process differentially selecting students on the basis of family background or unobserved academic ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper analyzes the impact of blended learning (BL) on the academic achievement of higher education students. A meta-analysis ( k = 51 effect sizes) was conducted to perform a statistical synthesis of studies contrasting student performance in BL conditions with traditional classroom instruction. We include disciplines and instructors’ end-of-course evaluation method as moderating variables. The results show that BL demonstrates a small summary effect ( g + = 0.385, p < 0.001) compared to traditional teaching methods A significantly higher mean effect size was found in STEM disciplines ( g + = 0.496) compared to that of non-STEM disciplines ( g + = 0.210). Nevertheless, the weighted mean effect sizes reveal no significant differences regarding of end-of-course assessment methods, namely one-moment and multiple-component assessment. The finding confirms that BL is significantly associated with greater learning performance of STEM-disciplined students than with traditional classroom practice. Accordingly, discussion concerning the findings and implications for future research are elaborated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many students who enter college are insufficiently prepared to follow a demanding college-level curriculum. Thus, higher education institutions often require low-performing students to repeat failed courses, a full term, or even a full year. This paper is the first to investigate the effects of such a “(grade) retention” policy on student performance in higher education. We study a setting where first-year undergraduates who fall short of a pre-defined performance requirement have to repeat all first-year courses before they can proceed to the second year. To determine the causal effect of retention and repetition on student performance, we apply a sharp regression discontinuity design to administrative data from a Swiss university. Based on a sample of 5000 students, we find that grade retention increases dropout probabilities after the first year by about 10 percentage points. Repetition of a full year persistently boosts grade point averages by about 0.5 standard deviations, but does not affect study pace and major choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As higher education institutions (HEIs) across the world strive to become increasingly international, English-medium instruction (EMI) is swiftly becoming mainstream in contexts where English has traditionally held a foreign language status. This change in the language of instruction has given rise to a number of concerns, which are still largely under-explored. Amongst these, research into the effects of EMI on students' disciplinary knowledge is of great importance and should be regarded as crucial so that HEIs offer the same possibilities for student construction of knowledge, irrespective of the language used. Our paper duly examines the impact that EMI may have on student academic performance when compared to their counterparts' in their L1 (Spanish). As sample data, a comparable set of first year student grades was collected for the subject of Financial Accounting I in a Spanish university during four academic years (2010–14). A total of 383 student grades were gathered and compared using mean difference tests. Overall, findings show no statistical differences across groups and that the use of EMI does not lower student final academic outcomes. These results may be relevant for other EMI contexts, the business education community and ESP course developers in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pre-college outreach programs can improve college access for underrepresented students. • The literature on pre-college programs specifically for foster youth is scant. • This paper provides an overview of NSEP, National Social Work Enrichment Program. • College students with high self-efficacy are more likely to achieve their academic performance goals. • Participants voiced an increased sense of efficacy in navigating the college campus, sharing their feelings, and increased belief in the possibilities of college. Although foster youth desire to attend college, many experience barriers to enrollment. Pre-college programs have been shown to improve college access for underrepresented students. Little is known about the impact of pre-college programs designed for foster youth. Researchers have found that youth who participate in experiential programs have an increased sense of self-efficacy. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to lift the voices of youth who participated in a six-week pre-college program called the National Social Work Enrichment Program (NSEP). Thematic analysis was employed to explore the experiences of youth. This manuscript focuses on a subset of data from the larger qualitative study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, most universities had to switch to "emergency online learning". At the same time, academics were in search of means to combat "the infodemic", a wave of misinformation rolling over the world, affecting social and political life, and undermining efforts to deal with the pandemic. In the framework of emergency online learning, we propose an educational sciences undergraduate online course addressing fake news illiteracy by giving students an insight into the form and effects of fake news with a focus on framing. The course was built upon current fake news research and the problem-based learning approach. The research questions addressed students' perceptions of critical design elements, their fake news credibility test performance, and their academic achievement. A total of N = 102 undergraduate students participated in the course. Among various design elements, students indicated that online communication and feedback was most appealing. On the other hand, for future course iterations, they suggested improvements to the task descriptions. Fake news credibility decreased significantly (F (1, 36) = 62.64, p < 0.000, partial η 2 = 0.64) and final course papers were on average good to very good, indicating strong academic achievement. The study suggests that problem-based online courses can be appropriate learning environments, even in the context of "emergency online learning" and, furthermore, that they can serve as an instrument for combating fake news illiteracy. • We address emergency online learning and infodemic during Covid-19 pandemic. • We review current literature on online news cognitive processing and problem-based instructional design. • We design, develop and test an educational sciences undergraduate online problem-based course on fake news. • Student feedback on the appeal of certain design elements was mostly positive; improvements of others were suggested. • Student fake news credibility assessment strongly improved; course papers reflected good to very good academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flipped classroom is a relatively new model in education that primarily focuses on learner-centered instructions. In other words, the model allows both management and teachers to build a more active and dynamic learning environment on the campus. The current paper tries to document the implementation of the flipped classroom model in two big data courses. Here, the course contents have been curated from a couple of websites with different contents including videos and short books as well as reports. The mixed-method approach was applied while analyzing the student perceptions in demographically two different groups. It was found that students of both groups responded positively to the flipped classroom, with each focusing on their specific goals. Consequently, the first group focused on the academic achievement whereas the second group with managerial jobs focused on solving problems in their workplaces. Students of both groups, although preferred TED talks and documentaries, they were opposed to university-like videos and O'Reilly short books and reports. Meanwhile, the use of English language contents turned out to be both a challenge and an opportunity for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study of teacher educators preparing teachers for the Further Education and Skills sector in England. Thirty-six teacher educators participated in an intervention intended to enhance understanding of subject-specialist pedagogy. Based on a socially-situated conception of pedagogical content knowledge, the intervention included a workshop supplemented by specially-developed learning resources. Data on prior knowledge, initial reception, and longer-term impact was collected by pre-intervention survey and at least one post-intervention interview. The paper explores how the intervention impacted participants' understanding and practice, and proposes a typology for understanding the longer-term sustainability of this impact. • Intervention to develop teacher educators' knowledge of subject-specialist pedagogy. • Impact of the intervention investigated by survey and semi-structured interviews. • Participants initially reported significant potential for impacts on practice. • Variable longer-term impact: reports of improved practice but also of no change. • Structural explanations specific to English further education sector are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of Facebook usage on students' academic performance. In addition, it also analyse whether Socialization influences Facebook usage. Empirical data was collected from 1165 Malaysian university students using a questionnaire survey. It was found that the construct Socially Accepted influences Facebook usage while Acculturation does not have any significant relationship with usage. The results also illustrated that there is a positive relationship between students' Academic Performance and Facebook usage i.e. the higher the usage the better they perceived they perform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a video-game designed to support teaching introductory economics at undergraduate level. In order to test its effectiveness compared to traditional textbook learning we designed a laboratory experiment. Results show no evidence that playing the video-game leads to lower exam performance than reading a textbook, neither for multiple-choice nor for essay questions. We also find no gender bias and no effect of announcing the test prior to the learning task or thereafter. However, game behavior appears to be related to test performance, and differently so for different types of learning. Students perceive the two learning tools similarly in terms of understanding requirements or usefulness, but enjoyed the video-game considerably more. Interestingly, although women enjoyed the game less than men, they do not differ in their test performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community colleges play a major role in postsecondary education, yet previous research has emphasized the impact of merit aid on four-year students rather than two-year students. Furthermore, researchers have focused on the impact of merit aid on enrollment and outcomes during college, but to my knowledge, none have yet considered the impact of aid on earnings after college. This paper utilizes discontinuities in eligibility criteria for a large merit scholarship to examine the local impact of aid on student outcomes both during college and after college. The findings suggest that reducing the cost of community college does not impact persistence, academic performance, degree completion, expected earnings, or short-term earnings after college for marginally eligible students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effect of a large-scale scholarship introduced by the Indonesian government in 2010 that provides generous financial assistance for poor students. By using administrative data from a large public university in Indonesia, this study estimates the likely effect of the scholarship on student academic performance during university. Using matching methods of coarsened exact matching (CEM) that take into account the selection criteria used for scholarship allocation, we find that the scholarship is positively associated with student performance in terms of GPA. Furthermore, we find that these positive associations are strongest for the least advantaged group in terms of family income. • BIDIKMISI is a large-scale scholarship from the Indonesian government for poor university students. • The targeting is effective as the majority of the recipients were students from poor families. • The administrative data and matching methods provide estimations of the effect of scholarship. • We find that the scholarship positively impacts student performance in terms of GPA. • The effects are strongest for the least advantaged group in terms of family income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines work with an academic concept in a multicultural classroom where a microblogging tool was used to facilitate dialogues. The analysis of extracts from classroom talk shows how one teacher prompted students to explain, elaborate and compare their written blog posts. The verbal richness and multiple perspectives evoked through the combination of dialogue and technology allowed the students to engage in active exploration of the concept of power in a social science lesson. This paper contributes to our understanding of dialogic practice as well as how specific features of technology can facilitate productive classroom interactions. • The study investigates how a diverse class explored an academic concept. • The class' work combined talk in groups and whole class with microblogging. • The teacher's dialogic stance promoted shared responsibility for reasoning. • Activity shifts and varied language use supported extensive student participation. • Microblogging combined with dialogic teaching supported coherence across group and class talk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Academic institutions need to be more efficient in supporting students at risk. • Automated machine learning helps in identifying optimal prediction models. • Ensemble models with balanced data enhances prediction using pre-admission data. Students' success has recently become a primary strategic objective for most institutions of higher education. With budget cuts and increasing operational costs, academic institutions are paying more attention to sustaining students' enrollment in their programs without compromising rigor and quality of education. With the scientific advancements in Big Data Analytics and Machine Learning, universities are increasingly relying on data to predict students' performance. Many initiatives and research projects addressed the use of students' behavioral and academic data to classify students and predict their future performance using advanced statistics and Machine Learning. To allow for early intervention, this paper proposes the use of Automated Machine Learning to enhance the accuracy of predicting student performance using data available prior to the start of the academic program. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Changes in the PISA eligibility is correlated with an artificial improvement in the Brazil national average performance. • With a correction to the distribution of students per grade in PISA, there is a more modest increase in Math. • The observed change in the PISA eligibility does not seems to be driven by distinct results across school type. • Controlling the sample to show the same distribution in each state, results in a reordering of states and worse math scores. PISA is one of the most widely used instruments to assess student performance in the world. This paper investigates how changes in testing dates and students' dates of birth (eligibility) between 2000 and 2018 have affected results in Brazil. Controlling for changes in students' grade distribution over time, we show that changes in grade composition are correlated with increases in average score. We estimate that about 60 % of improvements in math are unrelated to student improvement. Since changes in testing date and eligibility are unrelated to the school system, performance increases over time might not be a result of a country's educational policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reading interventions can impact readers along the reading score distribution differently. • Distributional effects for the Literacy Boost program in a district in Rwanda are studied using Quantile Treatment Effects. • Literacy Boost aimed to make classroom pedagogy and parent and community involvement in reading more effective. • The impact of the program is concentrated among students (girls) at or above the 25th percentiles of higher-order reading outcomes. • Important in terms of policy to tailor programs to the needs to different types of readers. Programs and policies in education overwhelmingly focus on improving the average academic achievement for students. However, educational interventions focused on literacy improvement can impact readers at different levels of the reading score distribution differently, and the distributional differences may be more pronounced by sex. In this paper, I explore data from a field experiment in a district in Rwanda that was intended to make classroom reading pedagogy more effective and engage students, families, and communities in reading activities outside of school to improve students' reading outcomes. I study the distributional effects of the intervention on students on two higher-order reading outcomes – Kinyarwanda fluency and Kinyarwanda text comprehension, measured for students who met a basic literacy threshold. I find that a) the set of interventions had a positive and significant, albeit modest effect on students at or above the 25th percentile of the reading distributions b) the program had positive and significant effects on reading outcomes for girls only, and these effects differed along the reading achievement distribution. This work underscores the importance of tailoring programs and policies to the needs of different types of learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A university education is widely considered essential to social advancement. Ensuring students pass their courses and graduate on time have thus become issues of concern. This paper proposes a reduced training vector-based support vector machine (RTV-SVM) capable of predicting at-risk and marginal students. It also removes redundant training vectors to reduce the training time and support vectors. To examine the effectiveness of the proposed RTV-SVM, 32,593 university students on seven courses were chosen for performance evaluation. Analysis reveals that the RTV-SVM achieved a training vector reduction of at least 59.7% without altering the margin or accuracy of the classifier. Moreover, the results showed the proposed method to be capable of achieving overall accuracy of 92.2–93.8% and 91.3–93.5% in predicting at-risk and marginal students, respectively. • Proposed algorithm predicts both marginal and at-risk university students. • Training vectors reduce by more than 59% while maintaining the prediction accuracy. • Overall accuracy of 91.3–93.5% in predicting marginal university students. • Overall accuracy of 92.2–93.8% in predicting at-risk university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]