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New Orleans has four schools that determine admission based ill part ott student performance on academic tests: Lake Forest Charter School, Audubon Charter School, Benjamin Franklin High School and Lusher Charter School. These are among the top performing schools in New Orleans. The racial and socioeconomic composition of these schools is significantly different than the same demographics for the public school population as a whole in New Orleans. Overall, these schools have significantly more white students and significantly less low-income students than the district. Furthermore, there is significant variance in the racial and socioeconomic demographics between these schools. This Essay explores the relationship between the admission practices of these schools and their racial and socioeconomic diversity. It finds that while admission practices partially account for the different demographics, other factors may have a larger impact. It concludes Mnh recommendations to create selective admissions schools that more closely align with the racial and socioeconomic demographics of the school districts these schools serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selective public high schools, which do not and cannot enroll all the students who want to attend, face a daunting challenge. New York City's elite high schools illustrate the problem: Longstanding student selection practices, including an all-important standardized admission test, perpetuate racial inequality. The student population at these schools is less Facially diverse than that of the City overall, and that pattern has resulted in litigation. Yet parents of children who are members of groups currently overrepresented at these elite schools also will (and have) challenged changes to student selection criteria to promote accessibility to students who are members of historically excluded groups, primarily Black and Latinx students. Schools walk a doctrinal knife's edge because there is no neutral baseline to look to.for determining when student selection processes are fair. This Essay analyzes the conimdrum and suggests that prioritizing fairness, which would manifest in a student body that looks more like the larger applicant pool, provides the answer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some selective public schools use entrance examinations, either alone or in conjunction with other academic measures, to admit students. This practice often generates student bodies with tiny numbers of Black and Latino students, numbers dramatically disproportionate to the populations from which the schools draw. Many voices therefore call Jbr test-based admissions to be abolished. More broadly, critics argue that, in addition to being poisonous to equity, "merit" is anincoherent and pernicious category for public-school admissions. This Article seeks to expand what has been a narrow debate over selective admissions. The reasonableness and desirability of academically selective admissions do not depend solely upon the propriety of rewarding "merit," either at all or in the ways that admissions tests define it. There are Cat least) three ways to think about exam schools other than as meritocratic institutions: as contests not primarily designed to reward: as part of a strategy of differentiated instruction: and as pork, one among many statecreated goods whose benefits politicians spread across constituencies. The choice of frame strongly affects the resonance of various arguments regarding exam schools, including disputes about disparate resources, the impact of exam-preparation services, and whether exam-school attendance benefits students. The propriety of exam schools also depends not only upon the schools themselves but upon the structure of the school system in which they a re embedded. Exam schoots can be more easily justified when they are apart of a large set of diverse schools with multiple missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Properly selecting students is one of the core responsibilities of higher education institutions, which is done with selection criteria that predict student success. However, student selection literature suffers from a dearth of research on non-cognitive selection criteria which can lead to incorrect admission assessments. Contrarily, personnel selection studies are heavily focused on non-cognitive selection criteria and, as such, can offer insights that can improve the student selection literature. We carried out a systematic literature review of both literature strands and looked for ways in which personnel selection literature could inform student selection literature. We found that non-cognitive selection criteria are better predictors of success in personnel selection than in student selection, implying that non-cognitive skills are more important for job success. We also identified promising selection criteria from the personnel selection literature that could lead to better student success assessment during the selection phase: personality tests, conscientiousness, person-organization-fit, core-self-evaluations and polychronicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing a synthesis based on reading various texts is a complex task. Difficulties may arise in the processes of selecting, integrating, and organizing the information. In this case study, we analyze the impact of an intervention program for secondary students (13-14 years old), aimed at improving their strategies for writing a synthesis. Students with varying levels of reading comprehension were asked to produce a synthesis based on complementary historical texts. The results indicate significant improvement among the students with average and high reading comprehension levels, in their selection, integration, and organization of information for writing syntheses, while students with low reading comprehension improved only in their selection processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the National Pupil Database to explore how grammar school opportunities vary among pupil groups, and how grammar school opportunities correlate with the Local Authorities (LAs), pupil backgrounds and attainment. The results show that grammar school admission is relatively fair, based on its selection criterion, but there is no evidence that grammar schools can promote social mobility by providing more opportunities for disadvantaged pupils, which is the major claim supporting their expansion. Snapshots of grammar school opportunities in each LA, and the probability of attending grammar schools for four pupil subgroups, are examined. Then logistic regression models controlling for pupil backgrounds and attainment are created. Findings reveal that the varied proportion of grammar school places in each LA leads to unbalanced grammar school opportunities between them, making the difficulty of attending grammar schools diverse. The difference in grammar school opportunities between LAs has benefited a group of pupils moving outside their home LAs for secondary education, usually from more advantaged families. In LAs selecting more than 20% of their pupils into grammar schools, pupils eligible for free school meals, pupils with special educational needs, native English speakers and white pupils are less likely to go to grammar schools, while those from richer areas, from minority ethnic groups and those younger within a year group have higher chances when controlled for prior attainment. The difference in grammar school opportunities between social groups is largely the stratification of early-age attainment, and is unlikely the result of deliberately biased selection process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite decades of litigation and court case rulings, pursuing the goal of diverse student populations in schools, including through affirmative action policies, remains a controversial subject. In the present day, discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity by educational institutions is still a divisive issue in the United States. In our nation's most populous municipality, this contentious subject has been debated as a result of the lack of diversity at New York City's eight "testing" Specialized High Schools (SHSs). Due to the disproportionately low number of Black and Hispanic/Latino students admitted, the prestigious SHSs have not been spared from allegations of racial and ethnic discrimination occurring in their admissions process. Over the past decade, critics have claimed that the admissions system for the SHSs, renowned for their rigorous, career-based academic curricula and ability to produce successful alumni, is discriminatory. Relatedly, there has been a renewed focus on promoting student body diversity in these elite schools, including a plan announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio in June 2018 to increase the number of Black and Hispanic/Latino students admitted. This Note explores the flaws of the Mayor's proposal and presents an alternative plan for reforming the SHSs' admissions system-a timely and controversial topic-that fits within the Supreme Court's doctrine on affirmative action in educational contexts. This Note begins by providing background information on the SHSs and their current admissions process. Then, this Note discusses the schools' lack of student body diversity and past efforts aimed to address this issue, including de Blasio's recent plan. Next, this Note proposes a novel admissions process for these eight schools, which was created based on the Supreme Court's precedent on educational affirmative action and the guidance of several experts in this field of law. Under this proposal, a semi-holistic, multi-factor process involving four measures of academic performance-SHSAT score, GPA, rank in eighth grade graduating class, and rank among eighth graders citywide-would be used to evaluate applicants, as well as an explicit fifth factor of diversity. This plan would allow the City's Department of Education to admit a critical mass of underrepresented minority students, similar to the approach used by institutions of higher-education. By analyzing the Court's recent affirmative action jurisprudence in the educational context, this Note argues that despite the legal challenges imposed by the Fourteenth Amendment, this plan would allow the City to preserve these schools' standards of high scholastic achievement, as well as admit increased numbers of Black and Hispanic/Latino students to these elite public high schools in a constitutionally-permissible way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores the main methods that are used to identify gifted students at both foreign and Russian schools: academic competitions, earned grades, the administration of special tests, and teacher opinions about the individual academic performance of their students. The authors note that none of the criteria are universally used insofar as it is impossible to provide a perfect formal measure of student talent that can identify students who think outside the box and have unique skills but who do poorly on standardized tests during the educational process. It is argued that to more effectively identify talented youth, we should use all of the methods taken as a whole without preferring any single approach to another one. The article also analyzes the main tools that are used to support talented students: scholarships and grants, preferential admission at universities, enrollment at special schools for gifted children and K–11 schools associated with universities, special classes, extracurricular studies and summer schools, and special centers for gifted children. Particular attention is paid to how special educational programs and methods for working with gifted children should be implemented at schools and to how teachers should work with parents and teacher assistants. The article provides a retrospective analysis of the measures that the Government of the Russian Federation has used since 1999 to identify and support gifted students. The authors conclude that the current laws that regulate this area are fairly contradictory. They frequently fail to specify the mechanisms that should be used to implement the provisions of the program documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the goals for learning is fundamental to students’ success as writers. We investigated how Year 6 students in New Zealand experienced, understood and responded to goals during a writing unit. The study took place over seven weeks. Data were gathered through interviews with two teachers and six student participants; field notes from lesson observations; informal chats with students; and the collection of teacher documents, resources and student artefacts. Student selected goals, success criteria and rubric statements served as points of reference for a number of writing experiences. Findings indicated that the discourses underpinning students’ goals and the way they were framed resulted in the checking, highlighting, adding and ticking off of elements of persuasive writing. It was concluded if writing is to be understood and practised as an art rather than a technical activity, goals for learning need to address the more substantive aspects of the genre and the writing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the spread of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) through a number of lenses. It argues that the supporters and promoters of CLIL position it as a near-panacea and attribute to it a large number of benefits, not all of which are supported by research. Looking at the issues arising from recent attempts to define CLIL, the paper proposes a distinction between weak and strong CLIL. The paper points to the lacunae in the research into CLIL, and suggests that these gaps are the result of educational policies that privilege a second language over other curricular subjects. Looking at the contexts where CLIL seems to succeed, as well as places where such teaching has been acknowledged to fail, it emerges that success is often connected to a high level of student selection on a number of criteria, as well as a high level of investment in teachers and teaching, and that CLIL often privileges those students who are already high achievers both in language and content. The paper then looks at the way in which the spread of CLIL policies can be understood through theories of policy borrowing and educational transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of selection of students to social work programmes is one that remains highly contested. While it is clear that there is no single way of choosing the next generation of social work students, nevertheless, there are a number of strongly held beliefs about what ‘best practice’ means in this fraught field. These can be difficult to challenge, and even harder to shift, in spite of contrary evidence. This paper presents research conducted in Scotland in 2016 as part of the Scottish Government-sponsored Review of Social Work Education. The research set out to consider what selection processes were being used in Scotland and why; more fundamentally, it sought to explore the views of those involved in social work education alongside evidence about the outcomes of the selection processes (that is, data on student retention and success). The article concludes that while there is little evidence that one method of selection to social work programmes is intrinsically better than another, issues of fairness and transparency in selection, as well as diversity, remain pressing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research points to the positive impact that gender-segregated schooling and classroom initiatives exert on academic attainment. An evaluation of these studies which reveal positive effects highlights, however, that students are typically selectively assigned to single- or mixed-gender instructional settings, presenting a methodological confound. The current study controls for students’ prior attainment to appraise the efficacy of a single-gender classroom initiative implemented in a co-educational high school in the United Kingdom. Secondary data analysis (using archived data) was performed on 266 middle-ability, 11–12 year-old students’ standardized test scores in Languages (English, foreign language), STEM-related (Mathematics, Science, Information and Communication Technology), and Non-STEM subjects (art, music, drama). Ninety-eight students (54, 55% female) were taught in single-gender and 168 (69, 41% female) in mixed-gender classrooms. Students undertook identical tests irrespective of classroom type, which were graded in accordance with U.K national curriculum guidelines. Controlling for students’ prior attainment, findings indicate that students do not appear to benefit from being taught in single-gender relative to mixed-gender classrooms in Language and STEM-related subjects. Young women benefitted from being taught in mixed-gender relative to single-gender classes for Non-STEM subjects. However, when prior ability is not controlled for, the intervention appears to be effective for all school subjects, highlighting the confounding influence of selective admissions. These findings suggest that gender-segregated classroom initiatives may not bolster students’ grades. It is argued that studies that do not control for selection effects may tell us little about the effectiveness of such interventions on scholastic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology enables millennials to remain "plugged in" via an array of platforms that provide an incessant flow of information. Despite these virtual connections, many undergraduate students experience challenges in analyzing data from the web, often selecting popular search engines to analyze business concepts. As the internet continues to shape the scope of digital content available to students, factors that influence student selection and use of relevant databases are important considerations for faculty in business schools. This survey of undergraduate students in an introductory business course found that performance features, along with ease of use, were primary factors influencing database selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the dental school admissions interview score as a noncognitive indicator of performance in predoctoral dental education, with specific attention to whether a correlation existed between the admissions interview scores and performance on the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The study population consisted of all 175 students in the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) DMD Classes of 2012 through 2016. Data on students' gender and age on entering dental school were self-reported using their applications for admission to the HSDM DMD program. Data on students' OSCE scores for three examination sessions were collected from the Office of Dental Education. The results showed that the students' interview scores did not significantly correlate with OSCE performance on any of the three exams. Performance on the first and second OSCEs did, however, correlate with performance on the third OSCE (p<0.05). Age on entering dental school was not significantly associated with performance on any of the three OSCEs; however, among male students, there was a significant negative correlation (p<0.05) between entering age and performance on the second and third OSCEs. There was no significant association between gender and OSCE or interview score. These results suggest that although the admissions interview scores can serve as an important resource in student selection, with the lack of association between interview and OSCE scores, it is possible that the communication skills required for the interview do not directly overlap with those required for OSCE success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subjects that young people study from age 14 onwards may have important consequences for their future academic and labour market outcomes. These decisions are shaped by the schools in which they find themselves. Schools also face constraints of their own. This paper explores the extent to which individuals’ decisions are affected by the school they attend and to what extent this is affected by the composition of schools in terms of academic attainment, gender, and socioeconomic background. We use multi-level variance decomposition models applied to administrative data on the subjects that young people in mainstream state-funded schools in England study between ages 14 and 16. Our results highlight the important role that constraints on schools play in subject choice decisions. We also note the particular role of attending a non-selective school within a selective schooling district. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper considers ways to theorise aspirations in terms of capabilities and agency to function as human beings, as well as our resources to act and participate in this world using a South African case of women students’ aspirations. In this analysis higher education should foster women’s freedom as critical agents to make genuine choices about their lives and futures, including being able to engage critically with gender norms. The paper thus explores critical agency, together with aspirations – the goals one wants to reach in the future – that indicate which capabilities are valued and which could unlock critical agency. However, the paper also considers the ambiguities generated by the persistence of gender norms and the way these may work in higher education cultures to constrain what women have reason to value and hence their capabilities and achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the impact of litigation on the mobilization of ethnic equality in the admission to Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) schools in Israel, and examines the socio-political mechanisms that have shaped this impact. It uses a case-study approach and draws on an analysis of documents and interviews. The findings confirm the conclusions of other studies regarding the limited ability of courts to produce change in schools by showing that ethnic equality was not mobilized until the Ministry of Education reformed its policy. However, the findings also show that the legal discourse empowered a group of Haredi parents to raise the rights consciousness of other parents and to support them in surmounting barriers that had impeded rights claims. The phenomenon of rights agents exemplifies how ethnic equality in school admission is mobilized in a bidirectional process: top-down judicial rulings empowered Haredi agents, who, in turn, have mobilized rights from the bottom-up to the new appeals committees in the Ministry of Education. The phenomenon also demonstrates the significance of collaborative relationships among lawyers, politicians, and social agents in order to generate social reforms in schools of ultra-religious groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes an iterative, joint channel estimation, equalization, and data detection method in the presence of high mobility for a multicarrier downlink system that communicates over rapidly time-varying channels. The proposed method uses a basis expansion method (BEM) which has low computational complexity and helps to reduce the number of coefficients needed to represent a time-varying channel and therefore is extremely easy to implement practically. Unlike the current literature, which is almost entirely focused on the uplink communication systems due to their computational costs, this method prioritizes the goal of being feasible in a downlink system with a reasonable performance. The proposed suboptimal algorithm is based on the space-alternating generalized expectation-maximization (SAGE) algorithm and the time-varying channel is represented by orthogonal basis functions obtained by means of discrete Walsh-Hadamard transform (DWHT). The resulting receiver iterates between maximum a posteriori (MAP) based channel estimation in the subspace spanned by the orthogonal basis functions and successive interference cancellation. Numerical examples show that the proposed algorithm has a satisfactory symbol error rate with low computational complexity and also has a reasonable peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) reduction effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to Malaysian government schools is prohibited for refugee children, and hidden refugee schools only reach a minority of Burmese students in Malaysia. This study used a participatory culture-specific consultation (PCSC) approach to examine the perspectives of Burmese refugee teachers on Burmese refugee student socioemotional issues and classroom management using interviews, observations, a preliminary refugee teacher focus group (N = 10:4men, 6 women; M age = 26 years), and a primary focus group with refugee teachers who were Burmese refugees (N = 9: 6 men, 3 women; M age = 30 years). First, themes suggested that societal pressures have an effect on the classroom environment. Second, refugee student behavior and emotions ranged from externalizing to internalizing. Third, refugee teachers relied on traditional Burmese methods for managing serious misbehavior. Fourth, with mild misbehaviors, teachers employed more "modern," student-centered methods. Results inform culture-specific consultation designed to meet refugee education needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Selection into specialty training is a high-stakes and resource-intensive process. While substantial literature exists on selection into medical schools, and there are individual studies in postgraduate settings, there seems to be paucity of evidence concerning selection systems and the utility of selection tools in postgraduate training environments. Aim: To explore, analyze and synthesize the evidence related to selection into postgraduate medical specialty training. Method: Core bibliographic databases including PubMed; Ovid Medline; Embase, CINAHL; ERIC and PsycINFO were searched, and a total of 2640 abstracts were retrieved. After removing duplicates and screening against the inclusion criteria, 202 full papers were coded, of which 116 were included. Results: Gaps in underlying selection frameworks were illuminated. Frameworks defined by locally derived selection criteria, and heavily weighed on academic parameters seem to be giving way to the evidencing of competency-based selection approaches in some settings. Regarding selection tools, we found favorable psychometric evidence for multiple mini-interviews, situational judgment tests and clinical problem-solving tests, although the bulk of evidence was mostly limited to the United Kingdom. The evidence around the robustness of curriculum vitae, letters of recommendation and personal statements was equivocal. The findings on the predictors of past performance were limited to academic criteria with paucity of long-term evaluations. The evidence around nonacademic criteria was inadequate to make an informed judgment. Conclusions: While much has been gained in understanding the utility of individual selection methods, though the evidence around many of them is equivocal, the underlying theoretical and conceptual frameworks for designing holistic and equitable selection systems are yet to be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College selectivity is associated with numerous positive life outcomes, but research on the antecedents of college selectivity, including religion, is limited--despite a long tradition of religion and stratification research. Using survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 2,093) and semi-structured interviews from the National Study of Youth and Religion (N = 46), we test for and explain differences in the college selectivity of students from conservative Protestant (CP) religious backgrounds compared to others. We hypothesize that CPs attend less selective colleges than other young adults, and that this may especially be the case among women. Our quantitative findings suggest CPs do attend less selective colleges, and the difference is greater among those with better high school GPAs. However, these differences are nonexistent for men once background factors are controlled. CP women attend less selective colleges than other women--a difference that is even larger among women with higher academic ability. Our qualitative findings suggest that these differences stem from young women's different understandings of the purposes of college (general self-betterment versus human capital investment), which relate to unique strategies for balancing work and family, enacting altruism, and achieving self-satisfaction. These findings show the continued link between religion and stratification and, more broadly, culture and stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an exploratory study about pupil selection. Admission regulations are central to understanding issues of school mix, segregation and educational justice. In Chile, student selection has been intensively discussed but scarcely studied. Using a questionnaire for headteachers (N = 581), we explore how school admission processes are organised and implemented within a market-based educational system with a high-stakes testing regime where schools are pushed to use selection practices. Despite the existence of a national (although weak) legal prohibition at the time the survey was conducted, half of the headteachers state that they use some mechanism to select students (play sessions, student testing, or interviews with parents) even when they do not face demand pressures. Exploratory data suggest higher levels of selectivity in subsidised private schools. Regression analysis shows a strong association between ‘selectivity’ and homogeneous academic intake and social composition. Presumably, the widespread use of selection procedures responds to the structuring force of a double system of educational accountability; strong pressure on performance within a testing regime and where funding depends on enrolments makes selection a fundamental strategy for schools, but which is seriously affecting equality goals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Teacher loss due to migration is a global phenomenon that impacts both developed and developing nations the world over. The aim of this study was to find out about the career plans of final-year South African student teachers. A group of final-year Bachelor of Education student teachers from a South African university responded to a questionnaire on intra- and intercontinental migration. The responses were analysed quantitatively and/or qualitatively. The findings showed that 79% of the students indicated that they would be teaching in South Africa, 8% were planning to teach in another country, while 8% were undecided. More than a third of the students (38%) said that they would like to teach in another country in five years’ time. Just more than a quarter of the students (27%) preferred Australia as a destination country. The student teachers’ most important motive to teach in a foreign country was the opportunity to travel, followed by earning a higher salary, and professional development. The student teachers indicated that their most important migration needs before leaving South Africa were information about health care, accommodation, and banking assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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High-potential students from underresourced rural schools face barriers that reduce options for academic advancement, which widens the excellence gap between them and their more affluent, but similar ability peers. The goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an expanded above-level testing model to identify high-potential rural students for an extracurricular math and science enrichment program. Results from our analyses indicated that a more inclusive talent pool differentiated among high achievers to find greater percentages (13%) of talented students compared with most gifted programs (3% to 5%) or Talent Search programs (5%). Overall, students’ math and science scores were related to a 75% and 50%, respectively, greater odds in being identified for the extracurricular program. Regardless of program participation, all talent pool students increased their math and science achievement; however, there were some significant gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this introduction to the special issue of IJME, we highlight critical autoethnography's potential for connecting the deeply personal experiences of race, gender, culture, language, sexuality, and other aspects of marginalization and privilege to the broader context of education in society. We discuss critical autoethnography as an interdisciplinary, blurred genre that transforms to fit the academic backgrounds, interests, and critical orientations of its authors. All contributors to this special issue situate their take on the genre in relevant literature and provide sociocultural critique in explicit and implicit ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Context: Transfer from community colleges to selective four-year institutions is an issue that assumes great importance for the democratization of postsecondary education. Yet research on what influences transfer to selective four-year institutions is surprisingly sparse. Transfer research typically lumps four-year schools receiving community college transfers into one group. This approach neglects heterogeneity in institutional selectivity and fails to study forces underlying the varied pathways to four-year institutions. Purpose: This research fills the gap in the literature by exploring the following question: What student and institutional factors are associated with transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions of varying selectivity? This study is aimed at identifying beneficial experiences to support community college students' pathway to the baccalaureate, especially at selective institutions. Research Design: This study drew upon several national data sources and a nationally representative sample of all first-time postsecondary students beginning at a public two-year college in 2003-2004. Based on the study's conceptual framework that depicts the relationship between transfer and various individual and institutional factors, I analyzed the hypothesized relationships using a multilevel path model. Findings: The study shows that few community college students transferred to highly selective institutions. In terms of individual factors that distinguish those who transfer to highly selective institutions from their counterparts who transfer to moderately or less selective schools, holding baccalaureate expectations and transfer intent seems to benefit those who transfer to selective institutions much more strongly than those who transfer to less selective ones. Similarly, rigorous course-taking distinguishes not only those who transfer from those who do not, but also those who transfer to highly selective institutions from their transfer counterparts headed toward moderately or less selective colleges. However, integrative experiences and first-term GPA show no significant relationship with upward transfer. As for institutional characteristics, percentage of certificates and vocational associate degrees awarded is negatively associated with transfer to highly and moderately selective institutions, while it does not particularly affect chances of transfer to less selective institutions. Furthermore, employment of part-time instructional faculty and staff does not benefit or hurt community college students' chances of transfer, and, overall, proximity to selective institutions does not appear to be influential either. Conclusions: This study's findings reinforce persistent issues associated with access and transfer to selective institutions for community college students. Both education policy and research must continue to tackle challenges and create opportunities to help broaden community college student access to four-year institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a study of the competition of linguistic systems within the speech community, tracing the opposition of distinct phonological configurations. Among younger Philadelphians oriented to higher education, the traditional short-a system is giving way to the nasal system, in which all prenasal vowels are tense. We present evidence that this shift occurs systematically in both the lax and tense allophones. The degree of conformity to each system is measured for 106 subjects by the Pillai statistic; community-wide patterns are revealed by regression modeling and bimodality diagrams. Adherence to the traditional system is greatest for White speakers who graduated from Catholic high schools, while the nasal system is strongest for graduates from elite schools with special admission requirements. African American students show no orientation to the traditional system, but parallel White students in the shift to the nasal system. The histories of students through the educational system show that the speaker's short-a system is largely determined during their middle and high school years, before entering college. Special admission interviews play a special role in this process, as brief speech events that strongly determine the person's linguistic environment for the years that follow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Motivations for study abroad in tourism and hospitality were examined as to the influence of a variety of personal criteria in the individual decision process of adult learners to select a host country and host institution of study. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Push-pull factors (Mazzarol and Soutar, 2002) formed the basic framework of inquiry. Quantitative analysis was done through primary data collection using hard copy surveys. Qualitative inquiry involved interviews with open-ended questions. Findings – Country attractions of the host location was the highest ranked decision criteria, followed by considerations of the educational institution. Research limitations/implications – Prestige and reputation of the education provider is of high value. However, greater decision influence was seen in respondents’ selection of host country for the attributes of safe and pleasant living conditions, as well as on going career opportunities locally. Sampling was cross-sectional and limited to one industry and one country. Although these are natural control variables, generalizability may be limited, and requires further study. Originality/value – Policymakers should be mindful of the match between the educational program and the site selection. Prestige of the school may not overcome a suboptimal location decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction:Up to now, student selection for medical schools is merely used to decide which applicants will be admitted. We investigated whether narrative information obtained during multiple mini-interviews (MMIs) can also be used to predict problematic study behavior. Methods:A retrospective exploratory study was performed on students who were selected into a four-year research master’s program Physician-Clinical Investigator in 2007 and 2008 (n = 60). First, counselors were asked for the most prevalent non-cognitive problems among their students. Second, MMI notes were analyzed to identify potential indicators for these problems. Third, a case-control study was performed to investigate the association between students exhibiting the non-cognitive problems and the presence of indicators for these problems in their MMI notes. Results:The most prevalent non-cognitive problems concerned planning and self-reflection. Potential indicators for these problems were identified in randomly chosen MMI notes. The case-control analysis demonstrated a significant association between indicators in the notes and actual planning problems (odds ratio: 9.33,p = 0.003). No such evidence was found for self-reflection-related problems (odds ratio: 1.39,p = 0.68). Conclusions:Narrative information obtained during MMIs contains predictive indicators for planning-related problems during study. This information would be useful for early identification of students-at-risk, which would enable focused counseling and interventions to improve their academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Medical student selection and assessment share an underlying high stakes context with the need for valid and reliable tools. This study examined the predictive validity of three tools commonly used in Australia: previous academic performance (Grade Point Average (GPA)), cognitive aptitude (a national admissions test), and non-academic qualities of prospective medical students (interview). Methods: A four year retrospective cohort study was conducted at Flinders University Australia involving 382 graduate entry medical students first enrolled between 2006 and 2009. The main outcomes were academic and clinical performance measures and an indicator of unimpeded progress across the four years of the course. Results: A combination of the selection criteria explained between 7.1 and 29.1% of variance in performance depending on the outcome measure. Weighted GPA consistently predicted performance across all years of the course. The national admissions test was associated with performance in Years 1 and 2 (pre-clinical) and the interview with performance in Years 3 and 4 (clinical). Those students with higher GPAs were more likely to have unimpeded progress across the entire course (OR = 2.29, 95% CI 1.57, 3.33). Conclusions: The continued use of multiple selection criteria to graduate entry medical courses is supported, with GPA remaining the single most consistent predictor of performance across all years of the course. The national admissions test is more valuable in the pre-clinical years, and the interview in the clinical years. Future selections research should develop the fledgling research base regarding the predictive validity of the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT), the algorithms for how individual tools are combined in selection, and further explore the usefulness of the unimpeded progress index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico, selection exams have been introduced in some States where the demand of upper secondary is high or where schools supply is insufficient. Mexico City and Estado de Mexico are well known cases of States where the processes and mechanisms of selection have been unified. However, little is known about how other States are selecting their students. This article explores the processes and mechanisms of admission and selection at upper secondary by State level; for this reason, it has an important contribution to the gap in the literature. Through a documental review it is identified the processes and mechanisms for admission and selection used at State level, the agents involved in the definition of such procedures as well as the differences between States. The article suggests that the admission and selection processes used in upper secondary are heterogeneous which translates into significant challenges for the Mexican educational system within the compulsory nature of the educational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL) must train healthcare professionals (HCPs) able to meet priority needs of the population and address health system deficiencies. Concerns about the mismatch between outcome and policy have led many IHL to review their curriculum content and training context. In this article we argue for a broadening of selection criteria when choosing students to train as HCPs. A narrative inquiry drawing on life-history interviews and art-based methods was used to generate data on lived lives as told and experienced by six rural-origin HCPs. Analysis of two narrative vignettes framed as dilemmatic spaces show how personal beliefs and practices inform perspectives that HCPs adopted in their learning and development at IHL, and the transformational practices they enacted. How competing forces were negotiated and positions were taken in committing to become HCPs with the capacity to lead transformation is described. Introducing and using dilemmatic spaces analytically enabled deeper understanding of personal beliefs and priorities that informed the choices made, among the many options available, in everyday situations that are important to consider alongside academic potential in the selection of students to train as HCPs who will lead transformation in health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although characterized by repeated ethnic conflicts, Sudan has implemented affirmative action at universities since the 1970s for students coming from war zones and remote areas. The implementation of compensatory measures has been promoted--somehow imposed--by the several peace treaties and by the massive expansion of higher education during the 1990s. The former have led to the creation of "special admission," mainly for students coming from conflict zones; the latter has led to the creation of "state admissions," which favor local recruitment for the newly created universities. However, those measures have proved inefficient for several reasons: first, the lack of consistency of the policy; second, the lack of political will; third, the lack of monitoring. The wider context--the liberalization of higher education and the independence of South Sudan-- has also contributed to diminishing the scope of the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the 11 years since its development at McMaster University Medical School, the multiple mini-interview (MMI) has become a popular selection tool. We aimed to systematically explore, analyze and synthesize the evidence regarding MMIs for selection to undergraduate health programs. Methods: The review protocol was peer-reviewed and prospectively registered with the Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME) collaboration. Thirteen databases were searched through 34 terms and their Boolean combinations. Seven key journals were hand-searched since 2004. The reference sections of all included studies were screened. Studies meeting the inclusion criteria were coded independently by two reviewers using a modified BEME coding sheet. Extracted data were synthesized through narrative synthesis. Results: A total of 4338 citations were identified and screened, resulting in 41 papers that met inclusion criteria. Thirty-two studies report data for selection to medicine, six for dentistry, three for veterinary medicine, one for pharmacy, one for nursing, one for rehabilitation, and one for health science. Five studies investigated selection to more than one profession. MMIs used for selection to undergraduate health programs appear to have reasonable feasibility, acceptability, validity, and reliability. Reliability is optimized by including 7–12 stations, each with one examiner. The evidence is stronger for face validity, with more research needed to explore content validity and predictive validity. In published studies, MMIs do not appear biased against applicants on the basis of age, gender, or socio-economic status. However, applicants of certain ethnic and social backgrounds did less well in a very small number of published studies. Performance on MMIs does not correlate strongly with other measures of noncognitive attributes, such as personality inventories and measures of emotional intelligence. Discussion: MMI does not automatically mean a more reliable selection process but it can do, if carefully designed. Effective MMIs require careful identification of the noncognitive attributes sought by the program and institution. Attention needs to be given to the number of stations, the blueprint and examiner training. Conclusion: More work is required on MMIs as they may disadvantage groups of certain ethnic or social backgrounds. There is a compelling argument for multi-institutional studies to investigate areas such as the relationship of MMI content to curriculum domains, graduate outcomes, and social missions; relationships of applicants’ performance on different MMIs; bias in selecting applicants of minority groups; and the long-term outcomes appropriate for studies of predictive validity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: Student selection is important for selecting the best candidates into medical courses. The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) is a valid selection tool for the task. The School of Medical Sciences (SMS), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has employed MMI as a medical admission tool to select potential candidates into its medical program. Objective: This paper described the implementation of the MMI and reported the preliminary evaluation data on its validity evidence. Method: A 9-station MMI (with 5 manned and 4 rest stations) was employed for the 2015 student selection exercise. Interview data were analysed and questionnaire surveys were administered to both interviewers and candidates. Validity, reliability, feasibility and acceptability were determined. Results: Unidimensional construct on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and interviewer comments provided evidence of construct validity. Overall reliability was 0.94, good enough for high-stakes decisions. Interviewers and candidates' comments on feasibility and acceptability were also generally positive. The consistency of the difficulty and discrimination indices of similar stations between sessions was identified as among the areas for improvement. Conclusions: We are cautiously optimistic regarding the utility of the MMI in the SMS; future improvements are planned but the present implementation seems sufficient for the stated purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skeptics of the KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) charter school network argue that these schools rely on selective admission, attrition, and replacement of students to produce positive achievement results. We investigate this using data covering 19 KIPP middle schools. On average, KIPP schools admit students disadvantaged in ways similar to other local students, and attrition patterns are typically no different at KIPP than at nearby schools. Unlike district schools, however, KIPP schools tend to replace students who exit with higher achieving students, and fewer students are replaced in the later years of middle school. Overall, KIPP’s positive achievement impacts do not appear to be explained by advantages in the prior achievement of KIPP students, even when attrition and replacement patterns are taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper compares the panel interview (PI) performance with the multiple mini interview (MMI) performance and indication of behavioural concerns of a sample of medical school applicants. The acceptability of the MMI was also assessed. Materials and methods: All applicants shortlisted for a PI were invited to an MMI. Applicants attended a 30-min PI with two faculty interviewers followed by an MMI consisting of ten 8-min stations. Applicants were assessed on their performance at each MMI station by one faculty. The interviewer also indicated if they perceived the applicant to be a concern. Finally, applicants completed an acceptability questionnaire. Results: From the analysis of 133 (75.1%) completed MMI scoresheets, the MMI scores correlated statistically significantly with the PI scores (r=0.438, p=0.001). Both were not statistically associated with sex, age, race, or pre-university academic ability to any significance. Applicants assessed as a concern at two or more stations performed statistically significantly less well at the MMI when compared with those who were assessed as a concern at one station or none at all. However, there was no association with PI performance. Acceptability scores were generally high, and comparison of mean scores for each of the acceptability questionnaire items did not show statistically significant differences between sex and race categories. Conclusions: Although PI and MMI performances are correlated, the MMI may have the added advantage of more objectively generating multiple impressions of the applicant's interpersonal skill, thoughtfulness, and general demeanour. Results of the present study indicated that the MMI is acceptable in a multicultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses student selection in medical schools. It references the article "How effective are selection methods in medical education? A systematic review" by F. Patterson and colleagues, which appears elsewhere in the issue and which suggests that academic records and alternative interview structures are among the most fair and effective selection practices. The author cautions against over-reliance on academic attainment. Physician revalidation and diversity in the medical field are also discussed.

Context Selection methods used by medical schools should reliably identify whether candidates are likely to be successful in medical training and ultimately become competent clinicians. However, there is little consensus regarding methods that reliably evaluate non-academic attributes, and longitudinal studies examining predictors of success after qualification are insufficient. This systematic review synthesises the extant research evidence on the relative strengths of various selection methods. We offer a research agenda and identify key considerations to inform policy and practice in the next 50 years. Methods A formalised literature search was conducted for studies published between 1997 and 2015. A total of 194 articles met the inclusion criteria and were appraised in relation to: (i) selection method used; (ii) research question(s) addressed, and (iii) type of study design. Results Eight selection methods were identified: (i) aptitude tests; (ii) academic records; (iii) personal statements; (iv) references; (v) situational judgement tests ( SJTs); (vi) personality and emotional intelligence assessments; (vii) interviews and multiple mini-interviews ( MMIs), and (viii) selection centres ( SCs). The evidence relating to each method was reviewed against four evaluation criteria: effectiveness (reliability and validity); procedural issues; acceptability, and cost-effectiveness. Conclusions Evidence shows clearly that academic records, MMIs, aptitude tests, SJTs and SCs are more effective selection methods and are generally fairer than traditional interviews, references and personal statements. However, achievement in different selection methods may differentially predict performance at the various stages of medical education and clinical practice. Research into selection has been over-reliant on cross-sectional study designs and has tended to focus on reliability estimates rather than validity as an indicator of quality. A comprehensive framework of outcome criteria should be developed to allow researchers to interpret empirical evidence and compare selection methods fairly. This review highlights gaps in evidence for the combination of selection tools that is most effective and the weighting to be given to each tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determines if the young people who apply for admission into high school select schools according to a certain pattern, and if variables influence the process. Four selection patterns were identified, according to the subsystem of schools; one group was formed for each pattern. The data were obtained from a questionnaire answered in 2012 by 150,404 young people; multinomial logistic regression was used for analysis. The variables were socioeconomic level, distance between the selected schools and the home, middle school average, and proportion of the requested schools that the young person could have entered based on the individual test results. This fi nal variable was not significant in the group whose first choice was a school in a subsystem different from the second choice; the remaining variables were significant for all groups. Since individuals with different characteristics have different selection patterns, the possible indication is that certain disadvantaged groups may not have sufficient information to select schools; the suggestion is to design strategies to provide needed information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]