This newsletter theme issue offers advice to academically talented youth on exploring career options. It begins with an article titled "How To Think about Your Career When You Haven't Even Decided Where To Go to College." The article notes the hazards of early career choice and recognizes the career indecision often brought on by…

This document consists of the first year's output (5 issues) of a newsletter describing opportunities and resources for youth who are academically gifted, in an effort to achieve a match between their interests and abilities and their educational programming. The theme of the first issue is "Entering Academic Competitions." It describes selected…

Outcomes of an Advanced Placement Program that has been implemented in 15 southern states to improve student achievement are examined in this report. The program gives students the opportunity to take college-level courses for college credit, dependent upon passing the Advanced Placement Examination. Following a description of the program and its…

This document consists of the five consecutive issues of the journal "Imagine..." published during volume year 4. Typical journal articles cover teaching academically talented secondary students in the following focus areas: (1) planning ahead for college; (2) history and archaeology; (3) physics and astronomy; (4) the global society; and (5)…

Research on the learning disabilities of adolescents and young adults and the findings on metacognitive development and its impact on academic learning provide a framework for the design and development of a secondary school curriculum foundation program for college bound learning disabled students. The major practical implications of the research…

This issue contains articles on mathematical modeling of school arithmetic word problems; cognitive load theory; cognitive effects of practical experience for high and low achievers; perspectives of college-bound students on learning mathematics; and training-based assessment of school achievement. (SLD)

In February 1986, a study was conducted by the Commission on Instruction of the California Association of Community Colleges to investigate the influence of the 1984 and 1985 high school graduates on community college enrollment patterns. Study findings, based on a 98% response rate from the 106 colleges surveyed, included the following: (1)…

More and more programs are being developed to strengthen the academic preparation of incoming community college students, reduce overlap between college and high school curricula, and facilitate the transition between secondary and postsecondary education. This paper highlights various programs devoted to these goals. First, efforts to strengthen…

This paper discusses the relationship between education and earnings, explaining that most states still consider college preparatory courses to be electives, and the skills and content needed for further education are not typically reflected in state high school assessments. It discusses the implications of this mismatch for young people, focusing…

Data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics are the basis for these analyses of student migration patterns in New Jersey. The distribution of out-migrating full-time, first-time freshmen in 1979 is examined by collegiate sector and institutional control. The states and institutions to which these students migrate are also…

This issue discusses changes in standards, assessments, and graduation requirements needed in K-12 and higher education, examining whether high school graduates are adequately prepared to enter college without remediation. Currently, about three-quarters of high school graduates will attend college. Among students who take the recommended number…

This research brief examines data related to the educational experiences of African Americans, profiling their demographic characteristics, their educational experiences in high school and college, and their employment status in higher education. African Americans make up about 12.5 percent of the total U.S. population. Overall, the number of…

The case can be made that school-to-work programs can be a college preparatory strategy because they can teach academic skills as well as and possibly even better than more traditional approaches. The skepticism about its potential as a means of preparing students for college is based on misconceptions about its characteristics. Its three basic…

A growing number of schools and colleges are making college courses available to high school seniors. This document discusses factors affecting the success of partnerships between schools and colleges for the purpose of providing such courses and describes several programs currently operating. The author first identifies 10 basic principles…

This theme issue of a newsletter for academically talented youth focuses on getting the best precollege education. It encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning by becoming aware of all the options their school offers; making use of them; supplementing and enriching the basic school curriculum; and participating in…