To a greater extent than any other species, human beings create the environments that, in turn, shape their own development. This book endeavors to demonstrate that human beings can also develop those environments to optimize their most constructive genetic potentials. What makes human beings human, therefore, is both the potential to shape their…

This report presents information from a variety of sources (primarily government agencies) regarding the status of women in the United States. The report presents data for each state on 20 component indicators as well as on 4 composite indices: political participation; employment and earnings; economic autonomy; and reproductive rights. Discussed…

Drawing from 1990 and 1996 data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), this study examined disparities between White and African American students' mathematics performances and classroom experiences, with attention to interactions among race, socioeconomic status (SES), and gender. Overall, NAEP scores increased for both…

This brief discusses ways to measure and report school quality. At present, the differences in state accountability systems make comparisons of schools and school systems very difficult. The most common approach to reporting school status is in the context of current status, an approach in which the school mean or median score for students in the…

This paper examines demographic and socioeconomic data on the Latino population, focusing on characteristics of Latino youth. The U.S. Hispanic population is growing rapidly, fueled by both immigration and high fertility rates. Although census figures indicate that about 64 percent of Hispanics are of Mexican origin, the Latino population is very…

The idea of specialized treatment for chemically dependent women is a relatively new notion, and professionals charged with the responsibility of treating these individuals will find little in the way of empirical guidance. In this study a number of personal variables were assessed for their potential effect on the length of sobriety for women…

Community college students may be at-risk academically, socioeconomically, or because they are first-generation attendees. Recognizing the need for a strong support system, a study was conducted to determine whether students could be taught to incorporate information processing strategies into their personal inventory of strategies. It was…

Young people from lower class origins continue to face major barriers to university education in Canada. This paper documents both substantial inter-generational class mobility and continuing inequalities in formal educational attainments by class origins. While Canada now has the world's higher educational attainments in its youth cohort and has…

Utilizing 1990 and 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress data regarding mathematics achievement, students' backgrounds, and mathematics teacher practices, this paper examines race and SES (socioeconomic status) related disparities in student performance, beliefs about mathematics, and classroom experiences. Although overall mathematics…

This report is the 11th in a series of biennial reports on the status of women and minorities in science and engineering. The reports are mandated by the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (Public Law 96-5 16) which was amended in 1998 to include persons with disabilities. The primary purpose of this report is to serve as an…

This study explored the relevance of funding equality on student performance in a large, urban Kentucky county. Data were collected from the district annual report on elementary schools, the Kentucky State Data Center (socioeconomic information), and the county planning commission (geographical information). Data analyses identified the best…

This brief analyzes the employment patterns and socioeconomic characteristics of Latinos. Nationally, Hispanics constitute 11.1 percent of the U.S. workforce. The number of Latino workers is expected to grow by 36.3 percent this decade. Working Latinos have persistently had high poverty and unemployment rates due to such factors as insufficient…

This document offers the second set of annual performance indicators relating to publicly funded higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. The document has the additional purpose of allowing each institution to check its own indicators based on the information supplied in this paper; of allowing the Higher Education Funding Council for…

This report provides comprehensive data on the level of access by Americans to telephones, computers, and the Internet. It also provides valuable information about where Americans are gaining access and what they are doing with their online connections. These data, from the U.S. Census, provide a factual foundation for key policy initiatives to…

This paper tests three explanations for the high educational expectations of Asian American high school students living in the United States: (1) favorable socioeconomic and background characteristics; (2) demonstrated academic ability; and (3) cultural values conducive to education. The focus is on differences in the relevance of these…