In four parts, this discussion describes characteristics of the thought of infants, preschool children, primary school students, and adolescents. Topics briefly addressed in part I, on the thought processes/capabilities of babies, concern sensorimotor thought without abstraction, the importance of physical exploration, the development of…

Part of a continuing series intended for use by reading professionals interested in understanding and improving the reading of adolescents, this report contains five articles dealing with a variety of subjects. Specific topics discussed in the articles are (1) readability, (2) reading deficiencies and previous English instruction of land grant…

Researchers have found that students who attend Catholic high schools tend to outperform public high school students on standardized tests of achievement. Although many aspects of this finding have been examined in subsequent research, little attention has been paid to the issue of how ability grouping affects achievement across school sectors. A…

The bulletin contains suggestions for secondary level social studies teachers to improve students' reading skills in social studies while at the same time enhancing the learning of social studies content. The materials can be easily adapted for elementary grades. Chapter one describes specific procedures for determining student reading levels.…

Begun successfully in 1963 as part of the larger Illinois Plan for the Education of Gifted Children, the demonstration center in "Anytown", a small northwestern Illinois community, was phased out after four years of operation. New curricula for grades 7-12 were developed at the University of Illinois for the Anytown and other similar…

A study was conducted to evaluate the admission criteria being used by the Connecticut Regional Vocational Technical Schools for the years 1977-1979, in an attempt to determine whether or not admission criteria and success in school could be used to predict second- and third-year grades. In addition, a pilot study was developed to follow up…

To improve the accuracy of college placement, Rasch scoring and person-fit statistics on the Comparative Guidance and Placement test (CGP) was compared to the traditional right-only scoring. Correlations were calculated between English and mathematics course grades and scores of 1,448 entering freshmen on the reading, writing, and mathematics…

THIS REPORT DISCUSSES IN DETAIL A MINIMAL 4-YEAR, INTERMEDIATE 6-YEAR, AND IDEAL 10-YEAR PROGRAM PROPOSED BY A 1959 CONFERENCE AS THE TYPES OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE THAT SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THE ACADEMICALLY TALENTED LEARNER. BECAUSE THE PREADOLESCENT CAN LEARN EVEN THE MOST UNFAMILIAR SOUNDS BY IMITATION AND PRACTICE, AN IDEAL PROGRAM…

DUNN'S PHYSICAL ANALOG THEORY OF COGNITIVE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION WAS EXTENDED TO THE ANALYSIS OF CONCEPTUAL FUNCTIONING ASSOCIATED WITH EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE AND MENTAL RETARDATION IN CHILDREN. THE THEORY, WHICH DESCRIBES THE INTERNAL REPRESENTATION OF INFORMATION IN THE FORM OF A COGNITIVE MATRIX OF ASSOCIATED DIMENSIONAL CONCEPTS, HAS BEEN…

AN EVALUATION OF AN HONORS ENGLISH TEAM TEACHING PROGRAM WAS REPORTED. THE PROGRAM, DESIGNATED AS A SPIRAL CURRICULUM, WAS ADMINISTERED TO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL HIGH ABILITY STUDENTS. RESULTS WERE EVALUATED IN TERMS OF (1) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN READING AND WRITING, (2) CHANGES IN STUDENT ATTITUDES AND PARTICIPATION IN GROUP DISCUSSIONS, (3) STUDENT…

This final report contains a ten-page narrative and extensive appendixes of materials regarding, and products developed by, a project to develop assessment and educational techniques serving the adult basic education (ABE) student with learning disabilities (LD). The narrative discusses activities (and results) concerning these five project…

This paper explores the reasons for the rapid adoption of intelligence tests by the public schools, and the historical relationship between testing and ability grouping or tracking. Case studies are presented of three California communities--Oakland, San Jose, and Palo Alto--between 1910 and 1925. These communities have been selected because they…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with the following topics: the effects of teacher-directed lessons on fourth and fifth grade students; self-concept and the comprehension of scientific reading; the readability of junior college textbooks; the…

DATA AVAILABLE FROM 3 STATES WITH LARGE MEXICAN AMERICAN POPULATIONS INDICATE THAT REFERRAL TO AND ENROLLMENT IN SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSES OCCURS AT A PERCENTAGE TWICE THAT OF THE PROPORTION OF MEXICAN AMERICANS TO THE GENERAL POPULATION. REASONS FOR SUCH ENROLLMENT ARE ATTRIBUTED TO--(1) MEDICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, (2) ECONOMIC…

In line with the psychologists' viewpoint on child development, an argument is made for reconsidering the timing and type of modern language instruction in the school. Evidence of the receptiveness of children to language learning from birth to age eleven is discussed, along with the efficacy of learning through a direct, or school, experience.…