The influence of academic ability, training, and personal characteristics on postdegree careers and attainments of recent Ph.D.s were analyzed in two studies. Publication rates and income were used as indicators of attainments. The path model employed viewed the employment setting as well as the kind of employment activity as influences on the…

Recent studies of the self-concept of academic ability, described by W. B. Brookover in 1959, are reviewed. The self-concept of academic ability is defined as the individual's assessment of his or her ability to learn in the school context in comparison to relevant others in the school. A scale--the Self-Concept of Academic Ability Scale--was…

A newspaper produced by students of English as a second language (ESL) is an old idea rarely put into practice. However, word processing and simple desktop publishing technology can help realize several often elusive goals of ESL: creation of an authentic information vehicle providing contact with a genuine audience (other students); involvement…

The effect of increased writing or planning time on a test of basic college level writing ability was studied. The essay portion of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test was given to students in nine New Jersey public colleges and three New Jersey public high schools. Each student wrote two essays on two different topics. The first…

During the 1978-1979 school year an early identification program for pupils in kindergarten and grade 1 was designed to select those students who would have difficulty with the London, Canada, mathematics or language arts curriculum. The identification program, based primarily on teachers' judgments, was extended in the two subsequent years to…

This study was designed, using a path analytic model, to assess the relative impact of different factors on science concentration decisions made by grade 10 high school students (N=237). Included in the model were selected demographic and socioeconomic factors, academic abilities factors (including logical thinking), indicators of home and school…

Thirty-two reports and publications pertaining to national declines in abilities and in test scores are cited, and most are annotated. These publications were issued between 1961 and 1976 and provided evidence considered by the Advisory Panel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test Score Decline. (Author/EVH)

In a study of the grading practices at Bridgewater State College, three research projects were conducted: (1) a questionnaire that compared faculty perception of grading in 1976 with their perceptions in a similar questionnaire in 1972; (2) a questionnaire for students adapted from the faculty questionnaire; and (3) a survey of the academic…

This document examines the work of Daniel Starch, emphasizing his work in educational psychology and advertising. After earning his doctorate in psychology (1906), Starch attempted to apply the findings of the new science to education and to advertising. This application met with much success. In advertising, he devised new sampling techniques and…

A review of research suggests that, for at least 70 years, teachers have interacted with their students using a relatively consistent pattern involving lecturing, seat work by students, and teacher/student interaction. Yet, after thousands of research studies, educators are unable to say that those interactions have any significant impact on…

This Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA) Achievement Program Guide is designed to provide the advisor-teacher with ideas to help in developing an achievement program involving handicapped and disadvantaged students. Suggestions are made to the teacher for making VICA work, individualizing rank requirements depending upon a student's…

Two models of intercollegiate athletics, designed to eliminate academic scandals in college athletics, are proposed. Schools that proceed along the lines of a "Corporate Model" will function as profit-oriented, semiprofessional (or minor league) teams that emphasize the importance of national caliber and winning athletic events. These teams would…

A study was conducted to compare tailored testing procedures based on a Bayesian ability estimation technique and on a maximum likelihood ability estimation technique. The Bayesian tailored testing procedure selected items so as to minimize the posterior variance of the ability estimate distribution, while the maximum likelihood tailored testing…

Theoretical and practical implications of the proposition that teachers' differential behavior toward high and low expectation students serves a control function were tested. As predicted, initial performance expectations were found related to later perceptions of control over performance, even when the initial relationship between expectations…

The question of whether private colleges are pricing themselves out of the market is considered. An analysis of the actual application patterns of a sample of high-ability students indicates that colleges and universities are not pricing themselves out of the market. Despite substantial increases in tuition and other fees over the last several…