The participants in this study were enrolled in a large high school in the southeastern United States. Of the 2,724 students enrolled at this school, 70% were White, 25% were Black, 2% were Hispanic, 2% were multi-racial, and 1% was of other ethnicities. Thirty percent of the school’s population received free or reduced-price lunch, a relatively low number compared to the total student population (Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, n.d.).The 24 tenth-grade students in this study were enrolled in a gifted/honors literature/composition class. These students were of advanced ability as determined by their eighth-grade Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) scores and were assigned to the class by the school’s registrar. The level category of the students’ CRCT scores determined their ability level. For instance, level one CRCT scores are considered 800 or below; level 2 scores are at or above 800 but below 850, and level 3 scores are at or above 850 (Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, 2005). Because most of the students in the study made level two or level three scores, they were considered to have advanced ability and were placed in advanced classes. EOCT scores are reported to the school divided into three groups as to how students met the GPS standards of the class. Students are given one of three comments, “fails to meet” standards (scores below 70), “meets” standards (scores between 70-89) and “exceeds” standards (scores 90 and above) (Georgia Department of Education, 2004). The students’ average eighth-grade CRCT scores and average ninth-grade Literature and Composition EOCT scores that were available are included in Table 1. Four students transferred in from other areas after the eighth grade, so there were no records of their eighth-grade CRCT scores, and two students did not have ninth-grade Literature and Composition EOCT scores. Of the students in the study, 18 (75% of the group) were White, 4 (17% of the group) were Black, and 2 (8% of the group) were Hispanic. There were 7 males (30% of the group) and 17 females (70% of the group) in the study, and the age range was 14 to17.
Table 1
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