It is estimated that around 2.4 million students per year were retained in U.S. schools in the late 1990s. Are these children receiving the best educational services to suit their needs? Are there differences between low-achieving students who are not retained and those who are? Researchers and practitioners are asking these and other questions as…

This paper aims to develop strategies for retaining at-risk students. At-risk students can be defined as being deficient in specific skills; having low incoming grades; having an expectation of failure; lacking familiarity with academic requirements; and having an absence of role models, among other negative characteristics. The paper suggests…

In 1985 The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) conducted an extensive investigation of student academic readiness for Texas' institutions of higher education. From the study it was learned that 30% of the students were unable to read, write or compute at desired performance levels. The state's response was the Texas Academic Skills…

There is a growing appreciation of the need for a greater supply of well-educated people, not only in the scientific and technological fields but also in the political, social, and cultural areas. The high school should play an important role in identifying and developing the specific abilities of each boy and girl so that each can make the…

Discusses early admissions programs to college work and the guidelines of the admissions process. (Author/RK)

Empirical findings on effects of teacher preconceptions of pupils' abilities on student performance are complex and contradictory. Some of the contradictions can be resolved by considering variables intervening between an expectancy manipulation (induced in the teacher by information provided by the investigator) and the evaluation of the…

Article outlined steps designed to help the teacher arrive at a more realistic indication of the ability of each student to handle basic instructional materials. (Author/RK)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of academic probation on the scholastic performance of marginal freshmen students at Georgia Southern College. (Author)

This study was conducted to analyze the classification ability of middle class, culturally diverse, and visually impaired children after instruction in a Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) unit. The SCIS unit was effective in improving student abilities to classify. (PS)

Current estimates of the contribution of education to economic growth have been questioned because they ignore the interaction of education with ability. Whether the neglect of ability differences in the analyses of the income-education relationship results in estimates which are too high is considered in this paper, using a 1964 sample of U.S.…

Reports the findings of a study designed to identify the level of self-concept-of-academic ability of black and white pre-college compensatory education students upon enrollment in, and completion of, a compensatory education program. (Author/JM)

In contrast to previous research relating Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA) scores to grades, the purpose of this study was to test the validity of the SSHA against criterion measures more directly reflecting effective study behavior itself. (Authors)

Reports on two studies, one about students whose degree goals are discrepant with their ability, and another concerning students whose family income seems discrepant with their degree goals. Both subgroups were compared with students whose aspirations seemed more "appropriate. Except in the degree of nonacademic achievement, students in the…

The director of the Open University's Institute of Educational Technology describes the work of the staff in four major areas: analyzing what is involved in subject-matter competence; diagnosing Open University students' abilities; creating conditions for improved instruction; and measuring achievement. (Editor/AK)