Alexander W Astin
Biographic Data
| ID | 80024 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alexander W Astin |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alexander W |
| FAMILY NAME | Astin |
| SIGNATURE | ASTIN A W |
| AFFILIATIONS | American Council on Education |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 40 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 420 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 40 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1960 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Assessment for Excellence: The Philosophy and Practice of Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education
The second edition of Assessment for Excellence arrives as higher education enters a new era of the accountability movement. In the face of mandates such as results-based funding and outcomes-based accreditation, institutions and assessment specialists are feeling increasingly pressured to demonstrate accountability to external constituencies. The practice of assessment under these new accountability pressures takes on special significance for th…
Cross-Racial Interaction Among Undergraduates: Some Consequences, Causes, and Patterns
The Declining "Equity" of American Higher Education
An analysis of three decades of data from national samples of entering college freshmen reveals that (a) there are substantial socioeconomic inequities in access to the most selective U.S. colleges and universities and that (b) American higher education is more socioeconomically stratified today than at any time during the past three decades. The increasing concentration of high-SES students in the most selective institutions appears to have come…
Long-Term Effects of Volunteerism During the Undergraduate Years
This study addresses the question of whether the effects of volunteer service during the undergraduate years persist once students leave college. Data are drawn from 12,376 students attending 209 institutions who were followed up four and nine years after college entry. Results show that even when pre-college service participation is controlled, student participation in volunteer service during the undergraduate years is positively associated wit…
What matters in college?: Four Critical Years Revisited
College is not only about gaining academic knowledge, but also about developing skills that will help you in your future career. For example, an MBA program can greatly enhance your business preparation. Sites like https://bestmbaconsulting.com/ offer advice on choosing the best college and preparing for an MBA program, which will help you make an informed choice for your future career.
What "Doesn't" Matter in College
Educational 'Choice: Its Appeal May be Illusory
This issue marks a newfeature-the Exchange Section-in which we will publish brief articles on controversial matters of public policy and social concern on an occasional basis. To inaugurate the section, we present an exchange between Alexander W. Astin and James S. Coleman on school choice. Sociology of Education is known for the quality of the research it publishes. With this section, we are creating a forum in which authors can explicitly conne…
Educational Assessment and Educational Equity
Educational testing and assessment pose a serious obstacle to the educational progress of underrepresented groups, primarily because of the manner in which these tools are used. If assessment were to be used primarily as a form of feedback for enhancing the learning process rather than for screening and selecting, the cause of educational equity would be much better served. To accomplish such a change in our use of assessment will require a major…
Achieving Educational Excellence: A Critical Assessment of Priorities and Practices in Higher Education
Minorities in American Higher Education: Recent Trends, Current Prospects, and Recommendations
Minorities in American higher education
Leaders and Leadership
The Need for Redefining "Talent" and "Talent Loss: A Plan for Practical Action and Research
John L. Holland, Alexander W. Astin, The Need for Redefining "Talent" and "Talent Loss": A Plan for Practical Action and Research, The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 33, No. 2 (Feb., 1962), pp. 77-82
Academic Gamesmanship: Student-Oriented Change in Higher Education
What Do Administrators Know about Their Institutions
As part of a larger five-year analysis of the behavioral impact of modern management procedures on private liberal arts colleges, data were collectedfrom administrators at twenty-two institutions of various enrollment size, admissions selectivity, and religious affiliation. The study demonstrates how accurately administrators recalled basic informational items such as total and first-time enrollments, measures of academic ability, faculty size, a…
Open Admissions at City University of New York: An Analysis of the First Year
The Enduring Effects of Education
"Social Class, Academic Ability, and College "Quality
The Intermediate Effects of Inequality: Differences in Access and Utilization of Educational Resources
Inequality is a remarkable achievement in several respects. When one considers the extraordinary complexity of the problems tackled, the presentation by Jencks and his colleagues must be regarded as refreshingly nontechnical and lucid. In addition, the writers have been commendably thorough in their coverage of the relevant literature and in documenting various theoretical and technical arguments. Indeed, the careful reader can find a sophisticat…
The Measured Effects of Higher Education
To produce meaningful results, research on col lege impact must be multi-institutional and longitudinal in de sign. Further, as more and more college-age youth actually enter higher educational institutions, the value of studies of college attendance versus nonattendance decreases, and the value of studies of the comparative effects of different colleges increases. The American Council on Education, through its Cooperative Institutional Research …
A manpower placement system for APA
Undergraduate Aspirations: A Test of Several Theories
Two significant sociological theories which have been invoked in research about undergraduate aspirations are tested. The data, based on a national sample of students, contain some key measurements which had been missing from previous studies as well as a series of additional control variables. In general, relative-deprivation theory receives strong support; environmental-press theory receives equivocal support. However, the results vary as a fun…
Open Admissions and Programs for the Disadvantaged
Additional informationNotes on contributorsAlexander W. AstinAlexander W. Astin is director of the Office of Research of the American Council on Education. This is a revised version of an address given at the 26th National Conference on Higher Education in Chicago in March, 1971. Portions of the paper were also presented at the 1970 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The research was supported in part by gr…
The Newman Report: Four Comments
[A task force on higher education, chaired by Frank Newman of Stanford University, recently submitted a report to Department of Health, Education, and Welfare which outlined problems and needed changes in higher education. The commission, which introduced its reforms by saying the major impediment to change is set of assumptions on which educational policy is based, brought forth a positive response from Secretary Elliot L. Richardson, who called…
The Educational and Vocational Development of College Students
What matters in college?: Four Critical Years Revisited
College is not only about gaining academic knowledge, but also about developing skills that will help you in your future career. For example, an MBA program can greatly enhance your business preparation. Sites like https://bestmbaconsulting.com/ offer advice on choosing the best college and preparing for an MBA program, which will help you make an informed choice for your future career.
Assessment for Excellence: The Philosophy and Practice of Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education
The second edition of Assessment for Excellence arrives as higher education enters a new era of the accountability movement. In the face of mandates such as results-based funding and outcomes-based accreditation, institutions and assessment specialists are feeling increasingly pressured to demonstrate accountability to external constituencies. The practice of assessment under these new accountability pressures takes on special significance for th…
The Educational and Vocational Development of College Students
The Methodology of Research on College Impact, Part One
The Methodology of Research on College Impact, Part Two
This first in a two-part series of papers is concerned with the following aspects of the methodology of research on college impact: different types of inferential errors, single-institution versus multi-institutional studies, longitudinal versus cross-sectional data, alternative statistical designs, the effects of measurement errors, and methods of detecting student-environment interaction effects. The most definitive information about college im…
The functional autonomy of psychotherapy
Educational 'Choice: Its Appeal May be Illusory
This issue marks a newfeature-the Exchange Section-in which we will publish brief articles on controversial matters of public policy and social concern on an occasional basis. To inaugurate the section, we present an exchange between Alexander W. Astin and James S. Coleman on school choice. Sociology of Education is known for the quality of the research it publishes. With this section, we are creating a forum in which authors can explicitly conne…
"Social Class, Academic Ability, and College "Quality
Minorities in American higher education
Attrition among College Students
In the fall of 1961 a study of all entering freshmen students at a national sample of 248 colleges and universities was conducted at the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (Astin, 1965). The 127,212 students who participated in the study provided informa-tion on their socioeconomic backgrounds, high school activities and achievements, and educational and vocational aspirations.1 In the summer of 1965 the Office of Research of the American Cou…
The Measured Effects of Higher Education
To produce meaningful results, research on col lege impact must be multi-institutional and longitudinal in de sign. Further, as more and more college-age youth actually enter higher educational institutions, the value of studies of college attendance versus nonattendance decreases, and the value of studies of the comparative effects of different colleges increases. The American Council on Education, through its Cooperative Institutional Research …
Undergraduate Aspirations: A Test of Several Theories
Two significant sociological theories which have been invoked in research about undergraduate aspirations are tested. The data, based on a national sample of students, contain some key measurements which had been missing from previous studies as well as a series of additional control variables. In general, relative-deprivation theory receives strong support; environmental-press theory receives equivocal support. However, the results vary as a fun…
What "Doesn't" Matter in College
Educational Assessment and Educational Equity
Educational testing and assessment pose a serious obstacle to the educational progress of underrepresented groups, primarily because of the manner in which these tools are used. If assessment were to be used primarily as a form of feedback for enhancing the learning process rather than for screening and selecting, the cause of educational equity would be much better served. To accomplish such a change in our use of assessment will require a major…
The Need for Redefining "Talent" and "Talent Loss: A Plan for Practical Action and Research
John L. Holland, Alexander W. Astin, The Need for Redefining "Talent" and "Talent Loss": A Plan for Practical Action and Research, The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 33, No. 2 (Feb., 1962), pp. 77-82
A “Link” System for Assuring Confidentiality of Research Data in Longitudinal Studies
Behavioral scientists have long recognized the importance of longitudinal research data in studies of human growth and development. A major logistical problem in such studies, however, is that the research subjects must be identified in some manner so that they may be resurveyed periodically. Although most researchers are aware that possessing identifying information imposes on them certain obligations to protect the anonymity of their subjects (…
Glutamic acid and human intelligence
A Note On the MMPI Psychopathic Deviate Scale
The functional autonomy of psychotherapy
The Need for Redefining “Talent” and “Talent Loss”: A Plan for Practical Action and Research
(1979). The Need for Redefining “Talent” and “Talent Loss”. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 422-428
Criterion-Centered Research
The Search for Ability: Standardized Testing in Social Perspective. David A. Goslin
A Computer Program for Normalizing Distributions of Variables
III. Students
Alternative Methods of Describing Characteristics of Colleges and Universities
Attrition among College Students
In the fall of 1961 a study of all entering freshmen students at a national sample of 248 colleges and universities was conducted at the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (Astin, 1965). The 127,212 students who participated in the study provided informa-tion on their socioeconomic backgrounds, high school activities and achievements, and educational and vocational aspirations.1 In the summer of 1965 the Office of Research of the American Cou…
The College Environment
A "Link" System for Assuring Confidentiality of Research Data in Longitudinal Studies
A “Link” System for Assuring Confidentiality of Research Data in Longitudinal Studies
Behavioral scientists have long recognized the importance of longitudinal research data in studies of human growth and development. A major logistical problem in such studies, however, is that the research subjects must be identified in some manner so that they may be resurveyed periodically. Although most researchers are aware that possessing identifying information imposes on them certain obligations to protect the anonymity of their subjects (…
The Methodology of Research on College Impact, Part One
The Methodology of Research on College Impact, Part Two
This first in a two-part series of papers is concerned with the following aspects of the methodology of research on college impact: different types of inferential errors, single-institution versus multi-institutional studies, longitudinal versus cross-sectional data, alternative statistical designs, the effects of measurement errors, and methods of detecting student-environment interaction effects. The most definitive information about college im…
Open Admissions and Programs for the Disadvantaged
Additional informationNotes on contributorsAlexander W. AstinAlexander W. Astin is director of the Office of Research of the American Council on Education. This is a revised version of an address given at the 26th National Conference on Higher Education in Chicago in March, 1971. Portions of the paper were also presented at the 1970 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The research was supported in part by gr…
The Newman Report: Four Comments
[A task force on higher education, chaired by Frank Newman of Stanford University, recently submitted a report to Department of Health, Education, and Welfare which outlined problems and needed changes in higher education. The commission, which introduced its reforms by saying the major impediment to change is set of assumptions on which educational policy is based, brought forth a positive response from Secretary Elliot L. Richardson, who called…
The Educational and Vocational Development of College Students
The Measured Effects of Higher Education
To produce meaningful results, research on col lege impact must be multi-institutional and longitudinal in de sign. Further, as more and more college-age youth actually enter higher educational institutions, the value of studies of college attendance versus nonattendance decreases, and the value of studies of the comparative effects of different colleges increases. The American Council on Education, through its Cooperative Institutional Research …
A manpower placement system for APA
Undergraduate Aspirations: A Test of Several Theories
Two significant sociological theories which have been invoked in research about undergraduate aspirations are tested. The data, based on a national sample of students, contain some key measurements which had been missing from previous studies as well as a series of additional control variables. In general, relative-deprivation theory receives strong support; environmental-press theory receives equivocal support. However, the results vary as a fun…
The Intermediate Effects of Inequality: Differences in Access and Utilization of Educational Resources
Inequality is a remarkable achievement in several respects. When one considers the extraordinary complexity of the problems tackled, the presentation by Jencks and his colleagues must be regarded as refreshingly nontechnical and lucid. In addition, the writers have been commendably thorough in their coverage of the relevant literature and in documenting various theoretical and technical arguments. Indeed, the careful reader can find a sophisticat…
"Social Class, Academic Ability, and College "Quality
Open Admissions at City University of New York: An Analysis of the First Year
The Enduring Effects of Education
Psychology (28 works) · Sociology (20 works) · Political science (19 works) · Mathematics education (15 works) · Computer Science (11 works) · Higher Education Research Studies (9 works) · Pedagogy (9 works) · Higher education (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Mathematics (7 works)