Grade inflation has been a consistently ignored problem in the public schools and universities for over fifty years. Grades keep getting higher and higher for a multitude of reasons. Students expect high grades. Parents demand high grades of their children and teachers. Some administrators implicitly or explicitly require that their teachers give…

For all students, the academic demands of secondary school are numerous. Students must be able to read and write in a variety of content areas; determine the importance of what is being said by the instructor; take notes in a format that can be used later for review; and keep track of their materials, class requirements, and daily schedules. Most…

Describes a dropout prevention program used for eight years in Joliet Township, Illinois, high schools. (MD)

Describes the Alternative Rehabilitation Program at Horner Junior High School (Pennsylvania). This program takes problem students out of regular classrooms so that students who want to learn no longer suffer from classroom disruptions. (MD)

The typical school system lacks an adequate support system for helping teachers resolve student problems. This paper describes one organizational innovation, the intervention assistance team (IAT), which is a formal group of teachers and other educational personnel who meet at the building level to recommend solutions to specific instructional…

A study identified and compared the self-reported social, emotional, financial, and health problems of nontraditional, urban commuting college freshmen to determine their impact on academic success or failure. No significant correlations with achievement were found. Other findings included a greater number of emotional and health problems reported…

This document presents a manual to help program developers plan for a comprehensive school and community-based response to the drug problem as required by the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. Part I explains the purpose of the manual and discusses other work being conducted by the North Carolina Alcohol and Drug Defense Program. Part II…

Sex and race differences in the problems and needs of medical students were investigated. The variables of marital status and the year in school were also considered. The results suggested that many important needs of first- and second-year medical students at Emory University were not being met. (Author/MLW)

Teachers frequently need assistance in meeting the needs of students with behavior and learning problems. Contacts with peers and other staff usually are informal and do not allow thorough analysis of the problem. The Building Support System model used in some North Dakota schools provides prompt, accessible support to teachers through peer…

Although there have been technological and structural advances in the schools within the past 10 years, the social environment for young people has severely deteriorated. Teenage pregnancy, guns in schools, illegal drugs, homelessness, suicide, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and unemployment are some of the negative mental and physical…

This planning guide was created to help educators plan and implement projects to reduce student abuse of drugs and alcohol. Chapter 1, Perspectives, briefly describes four commonly held perspectives regarding substance abuse: (1) moral-legal; (2) public health; (3) psychosocial; and sociocultural. A brief history of the ways in which New Jersey…

Suicide is the second (behind accidents) leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds. Schools are in a unique position to make a difference in suicide prevention by addressing three distinct phases of the problem: prevention, intervention, and post factum. Factors are identified that have a direct bearing on level of risk and should be…

Student attrition is a major problem for American colleges and universities because an increasing number of enrollees fit the demographic and socioeconomic profile of "high-risk" students, who consist in general of minorities, the academically disadvantaged, the disabled, and those of low socioeconomic status. Declining enrollments leave…

The principal authors of a new book, "Profiling Excellence in America's Schools," state that leadership is the single most important element for effective schools. The generic skills of leaders are flexibility, autonomy, risk taking, innovation, and commitment. Exceptional principals and teachers take their leadership and management roles…

Student problems and needs are an important component to be considered in the educational process. Outlines the dimensions of a program called Quest that helps students with social and personal skill development. (MD)