As the United States grows more ethnically diverse, traditional school-integration tools are becoming less potent. Restoration of Horace Mann's common school represents the single best way to promote equal educational opportunity. Controlled public-school choice (via specialty schools) is the best way to achieve socioeconomic integration.…

Cumulative learning losses over summer vacations are particularly detrimental to poorer children's reading achievement. By extending the relatively short 180-day U.S. school year, proactive and coordinated summer-school programs can help prevent "summer slide," closing test-score gaps and allowing children the extra learning time they…

Different approaches to multiethnic education were used and evaluated in middle class secondary schools in the northeastern United States. Experimental approaches included teaching about individuals renowned in professions not usually identified with their ethnic origins and analysis and confrontation of the problem of stereotypical thinking. (PP)

Causes of the emerging perception among middle-income students that their educational opportunities are being restricted are discussed, and potential solutions are offered, including controlling college costs, encouraging saving, and borrowing. The role of information and of values and priorities in helping middle-income families pay for college…

Concerned about working-class failure, argues that recent (British) government policies have insufficiently considered sociological studies on how social class affects educational success or failure. Social-inclusion policies must address forms of middle-class self-exclusion from mainstream public education as well as working-class social…

A program of partial (half-day) French immersion in the Cincinnati Public Schools was evaluated in the kindergarten year. The English and French language development of participating native English-speaking children from both working class and middle class backgrounds was assessed. The results indicated that (1) the pupils who spent half of their…

Most research on the long-term outcomes of early enrichment programs for low-income children suggests that the effects of Head Start participation and similar experiences are to help narrow the gap between academic achievement of low-income and higher-income children. The failure of children from low-income families to excel in public schools has…

Hearings concerning research done for the National Commission on Student Financial Assistance are presented, along with the Commission's recommendations. The recommendations concern modifications of the current law to facilitate greater access for low- and middle-income students and to improve the quality of postsecondary education in the country.…

Between 1970 and 1977, the proportion of black children in metropolitan areas increased in all regions except the Northeast, while in all regions but the West the white population declined. Although the thrust toward school desegregation since the landmark "Brown vs. Board of Education" decision of 1954 has tended to exacerbate white and/or…

This report presents recommendations concerning alternative strategies for providing elementary and secondary students with information needed for preparing and paying for higher education as well as the possible use of financial incentives to increase pupil motivation. The report analyzes information about existing California programs that seek…