The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the differences between high- and low-performing students' development of fraction proficiency over a school year and to investigate how those differences were related to instruction in fractions versus instruction in other mathematics topics. The data for this study were drawn from a group of (n =…

The arrangement of response options in multiple-choice (MC) items, especially the location of the most attractive distractor, is considered critical in constructing high-quality MC items. In the current study, a sample of 496 undergraduate students taking an educational assessment course was given three test forms consisting of the same items but…

This study examined the immediate and sustained effects of three training conditions on both spelling performance and spelling consciousness of 72 third-grade low- and high-skilled spellers. Spellers were assigned to a strategy-instruction, self-correction, or no-correction condition. The role of spelling ability and word characteristic were also…

Mentoring, particularly same-gender and same-race mentoring, is increasingly seen as a powerful method to attract and retain more women and racial minorities into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. This study examines elements of a mentoring dyad relationship (i.e., demographic and perceived similarity…

This study used survey data to examine relations among homework, student well-being, and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper middle class communities. Results indicated that students in these schools average more than 3 hr of homework per night. Students who did more hours of homework…

This study examined associations among children's agentic (social influence, status, power) and communal (relationship, affiliation) goals for peer interaction, cognitive and affective responses to hypothetical peer conflict, and teacher-reported achievement and behavior at school ("N" = 367; "M" age = 9.9 years). Agentic goals…

The present investigation addresses the question of whether certain factors can protect high-achieving students at risk for being labeled a nerd against devaluation. In 2 studies, 125 and 317 students from Grade 8 evaluated vignettes describing average students and students who were called "nerds." Results indicate that being modest…

A study with 43 fourth graders and 32 fifth graders demonstrated that once they learned a poem to the same degree, fast and slow learners recalled about the same amount after 7 days, but when they relearned the poem, fast learners recalled more after 14 and 28 days. (SLD)

The importance of the examinee's cognitive style in the multiple-choice answer-changing process testing was investigated in 2 studies with 125 and 84 undergraduates. Results suggest that examinees, especially high-scoring students, will usually benefit if they change answers, but cognitive styles did not appear to be a factor. (SLD)

Differences between and changes over a semester on self-perceptions of a quality student were analyzed for 162 high and 120 low achievers. A self-rating scale, devised with 37 student-suggested characteristics of a quality student and designed to record three different ratings on stanine scales, was used to collect data. (Editor)

Examined whether motivational goals influence the participation and performance of low-achieving students during collaborative problem solving with a high achieving partner. Results for 35 pairs of fourth and fifth graders indicate that low-achieving students for whom results were more salient learned more than low achievers who showed no such…

The effects of answer-changing on a multiple-choice test were studied for 27 poor readers and 26 good readers (19 males and 34 females) in eighth grade. Overall, subjects benefited from answer-changing. Answer-changing among young examinees should be encouraged if there is reasonable doubt about their first impression. (SLD)

Ninety-six high-achieving fourth graders performed a memory task before which either positive or negative expectancy statements were made by an adult and after which either positive or negative feedback statements were given. For high IQ children, performance was higher for discrepant combinations of expectancy-feedback. (Author/MH)

To provide data for examining the variables that distinguish effective writers from ineffective ones, 1821 mid-west 10th-grade students wrote three themes at 3-week intervals. From a first reading of these papers, the sets of three themes from 432 pupils, which were judged strong or weak in effective writing, were submitted to four judges for…