Martin Sanchez Jankowski conducted a 10-year study of gangs of varying ethnicity in three major cities, with a focus on New York City and Los Angeles (California). The center of his research has been in low-income areas, where gangs have been an institution for more than 150 years. Jankowski acquired experience by living with gangs from a variety…

This book is intended to help early childhood practitioners develop the essential understanding they require for appropriate use of assessment and evaluation information and to illuminate many of the issues involved in formal and informal assessment and evaluation. The chapters are: (1) "Assessment and Evaluation in the Early Childhood…

School within a School (SWS) is a locally funded program in the Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools of instruction in basic skills, career guidance, and counseling support for at-risk 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th graders in comprehensive middle schools and high schools. In 1991-92, 323 high school students and 67 middle school students participated. As…

Psychological factors that may underlie the consistent gender and ethnic group differences found in science achievement were studied in a sample of 557 college students (297 male and 260 female) taking the first semester of a 2-semester sequence in organic chemistry. About 70 percent were Caucasian, with 23 percent Asian and 37 percent African…

Some of the issues faced by institutions as they attempt to design a system of constructs that reflects the diversity of their schools are addressed. The choice of statistic, percentage passing versus mean, used in reporting test results can impact the allocation of services to subpopulations in the school. Percent passing statistics tend to focus…

The Monitoring Commission for Desegregation Implementation in the Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools formally responded to the 1990-91 Chicago Board of Education's Desegregation Review on Student Assignment. That Board report presented data on the contribution of various student assignment procedures to the voluntary desegregation of the schools.…

This practicum report describes a 12-week project to decrease truancy and improve motivation and academic performance of three students (ages 12 to 18) hospitalized with severe emotional disturbances. A visible and powerful reward system using a menu strategy was developed and implemented in which students participated daily in establishing goals…

The progress report on the Amigos two-way bilingual education program in the Cambridge (Massachusetts) public schools describes: research on the achievement in mathematics, Spanish, and English of Amigos students and students in control/comparison groups; data gathered on students' and parents' attitudes toward bilingualism and biculturalism;…

The Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery (CSAB), a school-readiness test, is administered to all public school students at the beginning of Grade 1 in South Carolina. This test is designed to measure a student's readiness to begin the formal school curriculum. The number of beginning first graders tested in 1992 (54,357) represented a decrease from…

This report looks back over a decade and tracks changes in high school course-taking. It partially updates a 1989 report titled "What Americans Study" and includes some information on instructional emphasis in mathematics and on additional topics related to course taking. These topics include differences among gender, racial, and ethnic…

In November 1991 a survey was conducted of all students in Toronto (Ontario, Canada) secondary schools. The initial report gave demographic information about the student population. This report includes subgroup profiles, such as the characteristics of female versus male students, the similarities and differences among racial and ethnic groups,…

In the Florida Community College System (FCCS) the Associate in Arts (A.A.) program provides students with a two-year transfer degree. In an effort to determine the need for state initiatives, policy changes, and funding priorities, a program review was conducted which examined a series of 19 issues regarding student characteristics, student…

In 1989, a study was conducted of the academic achievement of Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Area Community College (HACC) students who transferred to State University I (SUI) during the fall semesters of 1983, 1984, and 1985. A total of 81 students were identified and their academic records were tracked through the end of the spring semester 1989.…

Eight presentations are included in these proceedings: "Concerns of Secondary, Marketing Education Teachers in Illinois: Implications for the Profession" (Ralph Wray); "Differences in Self-Concept and Achievement of Vocational, Academic, and Academic-Vocational Students" (Margie Crocker, Jack Crocker); "The Identification of Critical Areas…

Since 1974, Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) has conducted annual surveys of its graduates to obtain information on jobs, career satisfaction, salaries, transfer to other institutions, and the impact of PVCC on careers and further education. Findings from the survey of 1989-90 PVCC graduates, based on responses from 48.2% of the 224…