Problems and opportunities in educational reform at all educational levels are considered in this collection of 18 articles. Titles and authors are as follows: Introduction (William J. Johnston); "Evidence of Decline in Educational Standards" (Philip N. Marcus); "Standards--by What Criteria?" (Francis Keppel); "Educational…

From 1970 to 1980, Indiana's population grew 5.7 percent, with the white population growing less than 4 percent as opposed to a 30 percent growth rate for minority groups. Nearly 64.4 of the state's minority population resided in Marion and Lake counties as of 1980. Except for Asian Americans, Indiana residents who belong to ethnic minority groups…

Black educators must act to counter the national trend toward eliminating Afro-American study programs and to preserve these programs as a permanent part of the English literature curriculum. Administrators in predominantly white institutions must be led to understand the importance of black literature to the American experience. To accomplish…

This study investigated the role of language factors as potential determinants of Hispanics' educational progress. Language background factors included exposure to, use of, and proficiency in both Spanish and English, and the students' perceptions of those factors. They were studied in relation to standardized measures of college aptitude and…

This paper assesses the credibility of a single total instrument score and various logical sub-scores derived from a series of summative judgments about the quality of teaching performance. The objectives were to compare the generalizability of alternative Teacher Performance Assessment Instrument (TPAI) scores, to compare the dependability of…

The 1983-84 year of the Jobs Opportunities for Bilingual Students program (Project JOBS) was evaluated by the New York City Board of Education's Office of Educational Assessment. Conducted at South Shore High School in Brooklyn, Project JOBS provided instruction in English as a second language (ESL) and native language arts, in addition to…

Private education and comparisons between private and public education at the collegiate and elementary/secondary levels are discussed in 11 articles. Attention is directed to relationships between private choice and public policy as they affect the quality, finance, governance, mission, and division of labor in a cross-national, interdisciplinary…

The proceedings include: (1) "Communicative Competence Reconsidered," by M. Doushaq; (2) "Scenarios for Enhancing Communicative Competence," by G. Salah; (3) "Oral Style Strategies in EFL Written Discourse: Implications for Teaching College Composition," by O. Atari; (4) "Arabic and English Imperative Structures," by M. Anani; (5) "Simplification…

This document chronicles major developments in post World War II Japanese educational policy. The focus is mainly on the way in which world events, social structure, religion, cultural values, and official policy initiatives influenced Japanese educational practices. Developments covered in the first period, from 1868 to 1945, began with the…

The research on effective schools has identified the superintendent's role as critical in the success of school improvement efforts. The New Brunswick school improvement program is featured as an example of a successful program. In 1980 the New Brunswick school system selected a new superintendent who faced a district with myriad problems…

The use of nontraditional college admission variables in the prediction of academic success was assessed with 444 freshmen entering the University of California, Davis, under the Special Action process (wavering of admission requirements). For fall 1978, 1979, 1980 special entrants, attention was directed to college applications, including high…

As part of a 45-state study, a self-administered questionnaire was mailed during the 1982-83 school year to 70 of Oklahoma's 237 public K-12 school districts enrolling fewer than 1,000 students; the questionnaire requested information about rural districts, teachers, students, and school programs. For the 45 responding districts, average student…

This paper, prepared as a chapter for the "Handbook of Research on Teaching" (third edition), reviews correlational and experimental research linking teacher behavior to student achievement. It focuses on research done in K-12 classrooms during 1973-83, highlighting several large-scale, programmatic efforts. Attention is drawn to design, sampling,…

A study examined the influence of such variables as aptitude, interest, personality traits, attitudes and aspirations, school achievement, and background on the post-high school training and career choices of secondary school students in South Africa. Data from various sources, including the Project Talent Survey begun in 1965 and continued with…

Emerging and traditional forms of assessment in U.S. higher education are considered in this collection of five conference papers from the 1985 National Conference on Assessment in Higher Education. Included are a foreword by Education Secretary William J. Bennett and concluding remarks by Clifford Adelman. Paper titles and authors are as follows:…