More high school students are seeking, and being offered, enrollment in accelerated curricula that prepare them for college and/or yield college credit than in previous decades. Two such accelerated curricula are Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes and programs (Thomas, Marken, Gray, & Lewis, 2013). There is increasing diversity among students enrolled in AP/IB in terms of ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, socioeconomic status (SES), academic preparation, and prior experience managing rigorous academic coursework (Handwerk, Tognatta, Coley, Gitomer & ETS, 2008; McKillip & Mackey, 2013). In evaluating student success within these more diverse programs, researchers have raised questions of how success should be defined in terms of domains and indicators. Completion of accelerated courses was once considered the primary indicator of student success (Adelman, 2006), but performance on end-of-course exams has been argued by some as a more accurate indicator of student success (Ackerman, Kanfer, & Calderwood, 2013) than mere participation in AP or IB courses. An exclusive focus on academic skills and test performance may be too narrow, however. Students' quality of life and mental health outcomes are also relevant within a holistic definition of student success. The importance of considering such indicators of emotional well-being is due in part to the recognition that high school students in AP and IB classes report significantly higher levels of stress associated with intense curricular demands compared to students in general education (Suldo & Shaunessy-Dedrick, 2013b; Suldo, Shaunessy, Thalji, Michalowski, & Shaffer, 2009). Examining the emotional well-being of a population with greater stress is justified by research with general samples of youth that has established positive associations between stress and mental 758443G CQXXX10.

This cross-sectional study determined whether students who take part in academically challenging high school curricula experience elevated levels of stress and whether this stress co-occurs with psychological and/or academic problems. Data from self-report questionnaires and school records were collected from 480 students from four high schools. Results of analyses of covariance suggested that stress is not always associated with deleterious outcomes, as students in academically rigorous programs (specifically, Advanced Placement [AP] classes and International Baccalaureate [IB] programs) reported more perceived stress than did students in general education, while maintaining exceptionally high academic functioning. Furthermore, despite their stress level, the psychological functioning of students in AP and IB is similar or superior to the levels of psychopathology, life satisfaction, and social functioning reported from their peers in general education. C

In this investigation, we examined the effects of a differentiated reading approach on fourth grade students' reading comprehension and attitudes toward reading. Eight Title I schools within one urban district were randomly assigned to treatment (Schoolwide Enrichment Model-Reading [SEM-R]) or control (district reading curriculum) conditions. Treatment teachers implemented SEM-R as a supplement to the district curriculum for 1 academic year, whereas control teachers used the district curriculum. Based on multilevel analyses of students' posttest reading comprehension scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (n = 358) and attitudes toward reading as measured by the Elementary Reading Attitudes Survey (n = 429), no statistically significant differences in students' attitudes toward reading were found, but SEM-R students had significantly higher scores on the comprehension posttest compared with the students in the control schools.

In this qualitative study, we investigated 15 successful and 15 struggling high school students, perceived stressors, coping strategies, and intrapersonal and environmental factors that students perceive to influence their success in college-level courses. We found that students’ primary sources of stress involved meeting numerous academic demands and seeking a balance between academic goals, social needs, and extracurricular activities. The most frequently described and commonly used coping responses viewed as effective involved time and task management, seeking temporary diversions, and cognitive reappraisal. Students perceived a strong work ethic and high achievement motivation as personal traits aligned with success, and support from a broad network of peers, parents, and teachers as environmental factors that are also related to optimal performance in rigorous accelerated high school programs.

High school students in accelerated curricula face stressors beyond typical adolescent developmental challenges. The Student Rating of Environmental Stressors Scale (StRESS) is a self-report measure of environmental stressors appropriate for students in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. We developed the StRESS in parallel with a new measure of coping designed for this same population. Items were derived from sentiments expressed during focus groups and individual interviews with 177 students, 72 parents, and 47 teachers. Multiple iterations of expert review and item analyses focusing on conceptual clarity and comprehensiveness resulted in 75 items reflecting stressors across domains, including school, home, and peers. High school students in AP or IB (N = 727) completed the 75-item inventory. Exploratory factor analyses and additional item review indicated a five-factor solution with 32 items. Cronbach’s alpha reliabilities ranged from .67 to .88. Five additional items representing a composite of Major Life Events also were included. The five factors and Major Life Events composite had test–retest reliabilities greater than .70. These scores were related to multiple conceptualizations of stress, as well as academic outcomes (GPA and attendance) and mental health (life satisfaction and anxiety), thus supporting the construct validity of the StRESS scores. Further support for the five-factor structure of the StRESS was provided by results of a confirmatory factor analysis (standardized root mean square residual = .051, root mean square error of approximation = .048, comparative fit index = .900) with a separate sample of 2,193 AP and IB students.