Current research on teacher decision making reveals that ability is viewed as an important attribute in determining students' achievement and that teachers behave differently toward students of different ability levels. This study focuses on a secondary English teacher's decision making in a class she perceived to be of low ability and in one she…

Computers provide particularly powerful environments in which to examine individual differences in cognitive processing and learning outcomes. The computer's capacity to collect and record response protocols facilitates detailed process analysis. Such analyses contribute to increased understanding of how individuals differ in their ability to…

The educational attainment of college athletes has become a major national concern. Universities often have student athletes who are marginally prepared. Because universities accept these marginally prepared student athletes, it seems reasonable that they should provide special services necessary to reduce academic deficiencies. Raising academic…

Ways in which parents influence children's developing perceptions of their academic competence were examined in a study of 81 academically competent third-graders and their parents. The study was designed to (1) determine whether the illusion of incompetence documented for fifth-graders appears in younger children, (2) examine whether parents'…

The study addressed the effect of admission criteria used by the School of Nursing at Florida International University and how they related to student success in completing the nursing program, passing the state licensure examination, and becoming registered nurses (RN). Attention was focused on the use of the state-instituted College Level…

There is a risk that some students will progressively slip further behind the pace of instruction across grade levels, particularly in the second through fourth grades. A combination of factors are related to instructional risk: (1) structure of skill development across more than one grade level; (2) organization of textbook lessons that provide…

The structural relations of the seven non-cognitive dimensions proposed by W. E. Sedlacek and G. C. Brooks (1976) and traditional definitions of academic ability, as indicated by Statistical Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, to first semester grade point average (GPA) and persistence after three and five semesters were examined. Random samples of…

The papers presented at this conference review current research on effective educational practices for low-achieving students and identify those that might be applied to programs funded under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981. A function assumed by several conference participants was to act as reactor to papers…

The chi-square procedure has been suggested as a viable index of test bias because it provides the best agreement with the three parameter item characteristic curve without the large sample requirement, computer complexity, and cost. This study examines the effect of using different numbers of ability intervals on the reliability of chi-square…

This report evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of individualized instruction compared to conventional instruction. The report provides information concerning relationships among student ability, school performance, and fleet supervisory ratings for 5,811 graduates of 19 Navy "A" schools and three pre-"A" school basic…

In a sample of 559 fifth-grade students, measures were collected to assess: (1) dimensions of self-attribution for causes of academic outcomes; (2) multiple dimensions of self-concept; and (3) academic achievements. The empirically-derived dimensions of academic self-attribution replicated and extended results of previous research, but failed to…

The primary purpose of this report is to describe the practices and procedures used by school districts to assess and grade student achievement. In April of 1988, the Educational Research Service conducted a nationwide survey of the grading and reporting practices and procedures using a stratified random sample of public school districts. The…

The proceedings of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) conference on the declining applicant pool and implications for the selection of medical students is presented in six parts. Part 1, The Down Side of the Slope, includes four papers: "The Declining Applicant Pool: An Overview" (R. Petersdorf); "Applications: Disease or…

This paper analyzes data from the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment (EQA) and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to provide a description of grouping, staffing, and scheduling practices that currently exist in elementary, middle, and high schools. The practices are found to follow a continuum from elementary through…

A discussion of foreign language education, evaluation, and communication in the context of the Finnish comprehensive school focuses on communication as a "graded" property that can be achieved at various levels of accuracy. Problems in designing summative tests for mixed-ability groups and shortcomings in the existing system are…