Listen to the interview at NPR: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/your-money/education/going-dollars-public-universities-are-taking-more-out-state-students

Read the article at Inside Higher Ed: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/04/30/out-state-enrollment-decreases-minority-low-income-student-enrollment

Read the article at The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/out-of-state-enrollment-poor-minority_n_3187094.html

Listen to the interview: http://cnnradio.cnn.com/2013/04/07/violent-teen-flash-mobs-confound-cities/

In order to learn more about successful transition from high school to college, we examined if participation in career-focused programs aimed at providing students with “21^st Century Skills” could predict postsecondary enrollment and persistence.  The data for this study come from students in one school district in which one career-focused high school program is offered.  This study utilizes propensity score matching in order to consider an association in this non-experimental setting in which a subset of non-participants and non-completing participants are comparable to those who completed the program.  Students who complete career-focused programs are significantly more likely than those who do not enroll into a postsecondary institution, and are significantly more likely to enroll in a 4-year institution as opposed to a 2-year institution. However, program completers are no more likely to persist past the first year of college.

Early Identification of Students At Risk for Community College Developmental Math Placement Aarti Bajaj Judd, Tamera B. Muradock, Carolyn B. Barber, Jacqueline Spears, & Morgan Groteweil, May 1st, 2013, 8:15 AM

Many community college students are not prepared for college-level coursework and consequently must take developmental courses in English, reading, and/or mathematics. Developmental coursework is designed to prepare students to succeed in college-level courses; however, the majority of students who begin a developmental course sequence never complete it. An additional concern pertaining to developmental coursework is the racial and ethnic disparities in placement into these classes. Students from historically underserved backgrounds (i.e., Black and Hispanic students) are more likely than their White or Asian peers to be placed into developmental coursework.  These differences in mathematics achievement begin before high school, as evidenced by the large racial/ethnic differences in K-4^th math achievement test scores.  In an attempt to learn more about academic preparedness for college-level math, and about racial and ethnic inequities in this preparedness specifically, we aimed to determine (a) how early in the course of students’ K-12 schooling mathematics achievement could predict placement into developmental math in community college; and (b) the extent to which racial/ethnic differences in community college math placement could be explained by early K-12 indicators of math achievement.  This study is based on students from a predominantly White, middle-class suburban school district in the Midwest.  Findings suggest that students can be identified as early as fourth grade for being at-risk for developmental math placement.

High School Math Predictors of First-Semester College Math Placement, Enrollment and Passing Morgan Groteweil, Tamera B. Murdock, Carolyn B. Barber, Aarti Bajaj Judd, Jacqueline Spears, Conrad Mueller, & Romana Krycak, April 30th, 8:00 AM

This study focuses on determining the extent to which racial differences in placement rates and completion in developmental math courses can be explained by variation in high school achievement within a sample of 1,434 students from a largely Caucasian, middle-income suburban school district. We conducted two logistic regressions with race and free and reduced lunch (FRL) status in the first model, high school math GPA and highest math course passed in high school in the second model, and the Kansas State Assessment-Math (KSA-M) score in the third model. Results revealed that highest math passed in high school, high school math GPA, and KSA-M score mediated the relationship between demographic predictors and developmental math placement, such that demographic variables explained no unique variance in placement beyond achievement-related predictors. Likewise, high school math GPA was the only significant predictor of developmental math success.

The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Increased Out-of-State Enrollment Bradley Curs (University of Missouri) and Ozan Jaquette (University of Arizona), April 29th, 10:35 AM

As public funding for higher education wanes, public institutions become more entrepreneurial to grow and diversify their revenue bases. We will analyze the intended (increases in net tuition revenue and an institutions student academic profile) and unintended consequences (decreases in the proportion of students receiving Pell Grants and the proportion of underrepresented minority enrollments) of out-of-state enrollment growth. If state funding decline leads to out-of-state enrollment growth, which then leads to declines in underrepresented students, the fiscal benefits of forcing public universities to become entrepreneurial must be balanced against the societal costs to access. Thus, empirical research on the causes and effects of out-of-state enrollments will provide a basis for future policies conscious of institutional responses to changing policy environments.

Read the press about the out-of-state research here.

A Critical Review of James Coleman’s Equality of Educational Opportunity (1966) John L. Rury (University of Kansas), April 30th, 5:05 PM

A critical review of a classic book.

The Rise of a High-Performing Suburban School District: The Shawnee Mission Schools, 1940 to 1980 John L. Rury (University of Kansas), April 30th, 2:00 PM

This paper examines the historical development of the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) in suburban Kansas City. Embracing communities such as Mission Hills, Shawnee and Prairie Village, Kansas—all planned by J.C. Nichols, Kansas City’s legendary suburban developer—along with parts of Overland Park and other municipalities, it became both large and wealthy. It also became the leading district in the metropolitan area, both from the standpoint of academic reputation and rates of growth.

Applications are due by 5/7/13. Email Emily Kennedy (ejkennedy@ku.edu) with application questions.

Event registration link: Next Generation STEM Learning

Event registration link: STEMtech Conference

Study of KC flash mobs could offer lessons for Delmar Loop outbreak

Boredom seemed to be the main driver behind the mayhem last summer at a popular Kansas City shopping district, according to a new study of what led the large group of teens to turn violent.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/study-of-k-c-flash-mobs-could-offer-lessons-for/article_3c02a432-9f72-11e1-84d1-001a4bcf6878.html

Heard on the Hill: KU researcher looks at why teens form violent flash mobs

Hyunjin Seo, assistant professor of journalism, contributed to a study that’s been getting some media attention in Kansas City and St. Louis these days.

Read more on this and other KU news when you scroll down at: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/may/17/heard-hill-university-virginia-poaches-two-profess/