Results of the third administration of the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), a statewide testing program for fourth-, eighth-, and 12th-grade students, are summarized. The assessment contains multiple-choice and open-ended questions in reading. mathematics, science, and social studies. In 1990, approximately 155,000 students…

This booklet focuses on what African-American parents can do to provide their children with a firm foundation for educational success. African-American children sometimes do not do well in school because of the following factors: (1) poor self-image; (2) different learning styles; (3) low standards set by teachers and parents; and (4) poor…

The role of behavioral adjustment in placing middle school students at risk academically is examined using 23 middle school teachers' and 378 parents' ratings of 389 children (53 percent blacks and 47 percent whites) on Conner's Parent Rating Scale and Conner's Teacher Rating Scale. The average rating on the scales for both sets of ratings is…

Factors affecting enrollment in agricultural education at the secondary level were determined in a two-part study. One part focused on factors influencing students' decisions to enroll in agricultural education; the other examined 64 recruitment and retention practices teachers use. Purposive sampling ensured geographic and demographic…

This report provides information on degree and certificate programs offered and student program completions for fiscal year 1990-91 in North Dakota's public and private postsecondary educational institutions. Institutional programs are coded in accordance with the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP Code) system provided by the Center…

This report presents a first year evaluation of the Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)/ Cooperative Learning Project, a 3-year collaborative effort by two Pennsylvania school districts--the Pittston Area School District and the Hatboro-Horsham School District--and Research for Better Schools (RBS). The project proposed to integrate advanced…

Intended to encourage promising and fresh ideas in education research, the Field Initiated Studies (FIS) Program in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) supports a varied array of research projects that are proposed and justified by the applicants. Of the 29 projects described here, 12 were funded in 1990 and 17 in 1991. The…

This report describes the first year evaluation of the implementation and effects of the Project SELF HELP, a family literacy program located in two urban elementary schools and run by a community organization. The program was available to 15 adults from each site who had lower than a fifth grade reading level and whose children were experiencing…

This issue highlights findings of Marshall S. Smith and Jennifer O'Day's "Educational Equality 1966: Then and Now," a chapter of "The 1990 American Education Finance Association Yearbook: Spheres of Justice in Education," edited by Deborah A. Verstegen and James G. Ward. The "Brief" first focuses on educational trends over the past quarter…

This booklet presents questions that can be used by a college or university task force looking at the freshman year experience and/or the broader undergraduate experience. It can also be utilized to aid the process of campus self-study or assessment. The questions are arranged under three major headings: (1) Campus Policies, Processes, and…

This monograph summarizes selected major activities, trends, issues, and recommendations related to curriculum, instructional materials and instruction related in science education that have been documented in the literature. The technique used for selecting trends, issues, and recommendations was to identify relevant literature that had published…

This study examines cases of overlap between federal Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 programs as reauthorized in the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvements Amendments of 1988. Both chapters emphasize the creation of more effective schools through similar approaches. The study sample includes three states (Connecticut, Arkansas, and…

The purpose of this report is to evaluate the seven alternative schools in the Houston (Texas) Independent School District by describing the students who were served by the programs, and by assessing the effectiveness of the programs in improving student academic performance and attendance. The following schools provide education to at-risk…

This report evaluates a program serving high school students in Seattle (Washington) public schools who demonstrate a need for increased language-based academic assistance due to their limited English proficiency. The Mainstream Instructional Support program served 170 students at 2 high schools with 1 resource teacher and 3 instructional…

One of the problems that teachers face in a knowledge-based social studies curriculum is the diversity of academic levels in a given class. The low level learner gets lost in the rush to cover the material and keep the interest of the other students. This project implemented a computer drill and practice program for those students who consistently…