The effects of record-card-type information on performance expectations were examined. Expectations based solely on preobservational information (standardized tests, previous teachers, family, physical characteristics) were positively related to the quality of the reported performance. Implications for the public concern over record card…

Suggests that innovations, not presently imagined, will influence the evolution of chemical technology in the 1980s. External influences, such as government regulations and inflation, are discussed in relation to the industry and the public. (SA)

Until recently, vocational guidance was the responsibility of private agencies in the Netherlands. However, the Dutch government has begun to incorporate vocational guidance into secondary education. High schools now have guidance teachers working in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and private agencies to provide vocational guidance…

Describes a class experiment illustrating students' illusions about their own mortality (often referred to as "unique invulnerability"). The students received information, culled from actuarial tables, concerning age and mortality rates. The students consistently overestimated their own age of death even when told they would do so. (MJP)

Though research is exploratory, it suggests ways in which individuals' a priori beliefs in available social support might affect their reactions to new information and the mechanisms that could underlie the maintenance of these beliefs in light of that information. Evaluates implications for the stability of perceived support availability. (LSR)

The usefulness of Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores in combination with grades in high school courses and the number and quality of these courses in predicting college grades in various fields was studied for 981 college freshmen. The SAT and collateral variables were able to predict grades in different areas and could be useful in guidance.…

Revenue forecasting is the critical first step in most college and university budget-planning processes. While it seems a straightforward exercise, effective forecasting requires consideration of a number of interacting internal and external variables, including demographic trends, economic conditions, and broad social priorities. The challenge…

Increasing evidence shows that fetal exposure to alcohol, cocaine, phenylcyclidine hydrochloride (PCP), and other drugs results in infants with abnormal neurologic findings. This suggests the need for longitudinal studies to determine whether such findings will translate into a significant number of children with learning and behavioral problems.…

Whether college grades are gender-related to traditional predictors of aptitude test scores and high-school grades was studied. Fall and spring (1985-86) enrollments in 88 introductory university courses (IUCs) were analyzed. In most of the large IUCs, no gender bias held up on cross-validation in a subsequent semester. (TJH)

If entrance to tertiary education in South Africa is restricted to successful school final-examination scores, blacks may be underrepresented for many years. Difficulties in ridding South African education of racism and alternative strategies for conditional enrollment in higher education are discussed. (SLD)

Student behaviors that best predicted mathematics learning in peer-directed small groups among students who needed help were studied with 166 seventh graders. Tape recordings of student interaction confirmed that receiving explanations and carrying out constructive activity were predictors of achievement. (SLD)

Reviews author James A. Michener's role in the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and contends that his 1939 predictions for social studies should be assessed in present-day context. Concludes that the history of social studies fails to support Michener's optimistic appraisal of its future. (CFR)

Whether models of parenting competence derived from studies of adult mothers are descriptive of adolescent mothers. Fifty-eight adolescent mothers from an alternative high school were studied. Results suggest that determinants of adolescent parenting competence are patterned differently than adult models predict. (SLD)

Systematically assessed replicability and generalizability of a multidimensional alcoholism typological system in 399 inpatient, outpatient, and non-treatment-seeking cocaine abusers. Two different procedures supported the construct, concurrent, and predictive validity of the Type A-Type B distinction in cocaine abusers. Multidimensional…

This follow up of 24 teenagers who had participated in a study of phonological analysis and reading and spelling abilities 11 years earlier found that phonological awareness in kindergarten was a significant predictor of later word identification and spelling skills. In contrast, socioeconomic status, vocabulary development, word recognition, and…