Introductory biology courses are supposed to serve as gateways for many majors, but too often they serve instead as gatekeepers. Reliance on lectures, large classes, and multiple-choice tests results in high drop and failure rates. Critiques of undergraduate science education are clear about the problems with conventional introductory science…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which undergraduate full-time and adjunct faculty members in the health and science programs at community colleges in Southern California utilize the seven principles of good practice as measured by the Faculty Inventory of the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate…

The purpose of this research study is to compare student achievement changes between matched QEIA and non-QEIA schools in an effort to infer effects of the most significant feature of QEIA funding, class size reduction. The study addressed the critical question--are there demonstrated, significant differences in student achievement gains between…

As pressure increases to ensure that limited resources are utilized as effectively as possible, funding adequacy remains a priority for all California public schools. The research was conducted through a multi-methods approach of principal interviews, site level resource allocation data, and overall student achievement on state assessments. The…

American students are failing to demonstrate expected competency on basic skills taught in schools. The educational system needs a major overhaul to address declines in scholarly engagement. The State Board of Education (SBE) designed the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) to give some merit to the high school diploma. Minorities and…

Over the past several years, states have come under increased pressure to improve the academic achievement of all students in their schools. As states have looked for ways to accomplish this task, more and more have turned to class size reduction, particularly in the early elementary grades. In this paper, we summarize evidence from two…

Compares New York State and California public school spending and educational quality indicators. Discusses differences in class size, enrollment in elective courses, academic standards, and standardized test performance. (FMW)

Presented are findings from California's State testing program for 1971-72 and 1972-73. The factors (variables) examined were divided into two groups: output factors, indicators of school quality such as scores on achievement tests; and input factors, factors describing the characteristics of school districts such as class size, tax rate, etc.…

The factors (variables) examined in the California State Testing Program were divided into two groups for the analyses: (1) the 11 indicators of school quality in terms of the products of the educational system, referred to as output factors (e.g., pupil scores on achievement tests); and (2) the 22 indicators of school quality in terms of the…