Examines first year results of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) required for students to earn a high school diploma. Results suggest this high stakes test failed to meet legislative objectives to increase achievement and close the achievement gap. Instead, language-minority students with passing scores achieved significantly below…

Examines one national goal--to make our national high school graduation rate reach 90 percent by 2000--by focusing on the dropout problem. Poverty and cultural differences play a major role in determining who drops out. Exploring multiple-intelligences research and emphasizing educational research and development are sound strategies. Includes 33…

Uses the 1980 High School and Beyond surveys to examine Hispanics' higher education outcomes. Hispanic high school graduates are as likely as whites to attend college, but differences in completion rates are significant. Socioeconomic status and grades strongly predict high educational outcomes. Completion differences also arise from Hispanics's…

Looks at federal legislation and other initiatives that have affected the evolution of transition services to individuals with disabilities moving from school to postschool activities. Discusses areas in which reforms are needed: promoting self-determination, reducing competition between increased graduation requirements and functional education,…

Traditional summer remedial programs to help students salvage academic credit have limited success. At-risk students at one Missouri high school contract to earn academic credit for core courses failed during the previous school year. Students must log at least 30 attendance hours over a 6-week period at their own convenience. The program's…

Reports a study that measured the perceptions of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A presidents, athletic directors, and head football coaches regarding the use of student athlete graduation rates as a criterion in head football coaches' evaluations. (GLR)

Changes in pharmacy student attitudes about professionalism, community health orientation, and qualities of a good pharmacist were studied in five graduating classes (n=-325 students). Results suggest significant decreases in professional identity over time and increased community health orientation during school years followed by a drop a year…

To ensure scientific literacy at graduation, teachers at Littleton (Colorado) High School created Direction 2000, a two-year Integrated Science course to introduce students to the life sciences, physical sciences, and earth science. Graduation is based on demonstrations of what students actually know and can do, rather than on accumulated credits.…

Presents two educators' views on elective courses. Argues that single-subject high school English courses teach the same skills that are taught in traditional English courses, offer students the opportunity to choose, can meet students' particular interest or needs, and should fulfill an English requirement. Offers a perspective on the history of…

Examines special issues surrounding foreign language (FL) requirements for students classified as learning disabled (LD). Focuses on why students experience FL learning problems, the problems with the definition of and diagnosis of LD, whether research supports traditional assumptions about LD and FL learning, whether students classified as LD…

Investigated graduation rates of students in Rutgers University's 1980-92 first-time, full-time freshman cohorts of Student Support Services participants. Cohort groups had a mean graduation rate of 56.2 percent (comparable to national data for similar students and to regular enrollment at Rutgers). The strong outcomes were attributed to the…

Reports that black students at selective U.S. colleges have high graduation rates, but black student graduation rates at flagship state universities and historically black colleges are far lower. These rates make a positive case for affirmative action at selective U.S. universities. Compares black and white graduation rates and presents data on…

Examines effect of high-, medium-, and low-stakes testing on student achievement (internationally and within the U.S.); discusses similarities and differences between curriculum-based exit exams and minimum competency tests; finds curriculum-based exit exams raise achievement. Discusses effects of minimum competency testing on student achievement…

Argues that the goal of technology education is to produce technologically educated persons who can function effectively and contribute to society. Urges technology educators to accept the challenges implicit in the mandate for technological literacy. (SK)

Describes a retention assessment framework as a way of helping practitioners use existing literature and research to assess how good their institutional retention effort is. Addresses the rationale for the framework, why some institutions graduate students at higher rates than predicted given the entry characteristics of its students, and how to…