Advanced Course Completion in Comprehensive and Magnet High Schools: A Study in Clark County School District

• In Event: 75.061 - Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: 75.061-6 - Examining Student Achievement: Impact of Magnet Programs, Extracurricular Activities, and Incentives

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between students’ prior achievement and the likelihood of students completing advanced courses, and if the nature of this relationship differed between magnet and comprehensive high schools. A complete study report has been submitted to our funding agency, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The report is embargoed until it is reviewed and approved for dissemination, which we anticipate will be in fall 2014. If the findings suggest that there is something about magnet schools, other than student achievement, that contributes to the likelihood of completing advanced courses, future work should focus on possible explanations, such as magnet schools having more supportive policies or practices for students who enroll in advanced courses.

Authors

• John Rice, WestEd

• Min Huang, WestEd

• Andrea Anne Lash, WestEd

• Loan Tran, WestEd