Discusses the Directed Learning Program in Hempstead, Long Island, one of 13 compensatory education programs across the country recommended for emulation by other school districts by the ERIC/Information Retrieval Center on the Disadvantaged. (Author/JM)

Teacher judgments of student need for compensatory education were found to agree moderately with student scores on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS). Accuracy of teacher judgments was not influenced by student racial, ethnic, or economic characteristics, extent of individualization of instruction, or teacher training and experience.…

Discusses the Home Start program, the new three-year Head Start demonstration program designed to bring comprehensive child development services to children and families in their own homes by helping parents provide many of the same services Head Start offers children in centers. (Author/JM)

An interview with Dr. Edward Zigler, who is director of the Child Study Center of Yale and former director of the U.S. Office of Child Development. (Author/JM)

Recent experiences teaching in inner city schools indicate they are structured in ways that increase failure probability. Absences, some related to students' poverty, and some administrative policies greatly reduce actual class time. Repeated classroom interruptions decrease instructional effectiveness. Inflexible instructional policies and…

The present call for excellence can be seen in previous cycles of educational reform. Recent reports and studies on reform lack a concern for equity. Concepts of equity, equality and excellence are discussed. Disadvantages for minorities in reform programs are pointed out. Alternative reforms are proposed to enhance equity for minorities and…

A micro-finance analysis of site-based at-risk per pupil costs conducted at a Texas urban high school with high minority student enrollment revealed that 68 percent of the students exhibited state-defined, at-risk variables and that the highest program cost produced the highest achievement. (SLD)

Studied 21 students labeled "at risk" by their schools who participated in an after-school compensatory program. These students partially accepted, and ultimately rejected, the status-attainment ideology promulgated within the program. Suggests ways in which adults could better represent the interests of these students. (SLD)

Executive and legislative branches of the New York State government have made consistent efforts to address the dropout problem, which is particularly acute in urban schools, through new initiatives and increased funding. State aid programs are summarized, and suggestions for improvement are provided. (SLD)