Although federal officials are urging colleges and K-12 schools to re-open for the fall, many institutions plan to continue virtual instruction or adopt a hybrid model that blends in-person and online learning.
And while much of the news surrounding the coronavirus is somber, some education experts think the expansion of more flexible learning options could be a good thing, particularly for postsecondary education.
Continue reading Amid COVID-19 Crisis, Blended Learning Offers Benefits
What is the best predictor of student success? According to a new study, it’s high school grade point averages.
The study, published recently in Educational Researcher, found that a student’s high school grade point average is five times stronger than their ACT scores at predicting college graduation.
Continue reading Study: High School Grades Best Predictors of College Completion
Boys and girls enroll in advanced math and sciences classes at equal rates as they move into high school. But a gender gap appears as they get closer to college, with boys enrolling in more advanced STEM courses than girls, according to a recent Edutopia article.
“This gap widens the longer girls are in school and is often compounded by issues of race and class,” according to Carly Berwick, a journalist and English teacher at a STEM magnet school in New Jersey.
The good news? Educators can help close the gap.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on Admitted in August 2018. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.
In the age of laptops, tablets, and smartphones, we’ve mastered the art of multitasking — right?
Unfortunately, a new study suggests otherwise and includes some sobering findings for students.
According to research published in Educational Psychology, students who use electronic devices during class lectures have a harder time recalling what they learned in the long-term.
Continue reading Study: In-Class Use of Cell Phones, Laptops Lowers Test Scores
Cinder block walls, bunk beds, and shared bathrooms: Undergrads may like to complain about their on-campus accommodations, but new research suggests that living in a traditional dormitory may help freshmen keep their grades up.
A study published this summer in the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice found that first-year students in traditional dorm rooms had higher GPAs than those living in on-campus apartment-style housing.
Continue reading Study: Traditional On-Campus Housing Offers Academic Benefits
What role does mindset play in student success?
A new report from the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) finds that a productive and positive mindset can change a student’s intelligence, confidence, and increase levels of engagement.
Continue reading Report: Mindset Plays Role in Community College Student Success
Teenagers are stressed. And pressured. And anxious. And overwhelmed.
According to a recent study, 45 percent of teenagers in the US are stressed “all the time.” And though anxiety levels have risen in teens across all backgrounds, it has risen more among teens in affluent areas.
In an essay for Philly magazine, Tom McGrath explores the idea that “it’s the kids with the seemingly endless opportunities who are most anxious about their futures.”
The school year is almost over and motivation for many high school seniors is quite low.
Commonly known as “senioritis,” this is the time after college acceptances arrive and high school seniors start to feel like school isn’t important.
Senioritis often has a negative connotation. But past #NACACreads author Ned Johnson thinks the term and the feeling need a rebrand.
Continue reading The New ‘Senioritis’: Finding Your Motivation
All students participating in postsecondary education need effective self-advocacy and self-determination. However, it is even more essential for those with disabilities for obtain and utilize these skills.
According to a new brief from the National Center for Learning Disabilities, self-advocacy skills “include a person understanding themselves, their rights, and their needs, and communicating that understanding—leading to self-determination. Self-determination is a dispositional characteristic that enables a person to act in service of freely chosen goals and make or cause things to happen in their own life.”
Recruitment of rural and low-income students is often a goal of universities. But some schools don’t offer the support system to allow these students to succeed once they arrive on campus.
That was the case for writer Alison Stine.
Stine recently authored an essay recounting her experience as a student from a rural background at a private college.
“I wasn’t the first person in my family to go to college — I was the second generation, after my parents — and on teachers’ and guidance counselors’ advice, I had applied to several schools, including state universities,” she wrote. “But the private colleges were the ones that seemed to really want someone like me. They courted me. They offered me money, and I couldn’t say no to that. I couldn’t afford to.”
