Indicators of persistence of nontraditional students at a large commuter state university were studied, and the literature on persistence was reviewed. The literature review covered student variables affecting retention rates, ethnic status and retention, institutional variables affecting persistence, and theoretical models that explain…

During spring and fall 1985, a study was conducted at Cosumnes River College (CRC) to determine how assessment testing scores related to student persistence and performance. The student history files of a random sample of 498 students who had been tested by the CRC Assessment Center during spring and fall 1985 were examined, yielding the following…

Structural equation models of annual federal expenditures for elementary and secondary education and for higher education were estimated using time-series data extending from 1947 to the later 1970s. The pattern of expenditures for elementary and secondary education proved to follow closely that for higher education. Factors affecting federal…

This paper provides a general overview of a major study of student absenteeism as well as a narrower look at the problems associated with measuring student absences. The study data came from questionnaires completed by students, teachers, and administrators at six high schools in two urban districts in the western United States; interviews with…

This study examines two concepts--the relationship between different types of television viewing as evidence of viewer selectivity, and the structural relationships between television viewing and experiences derived from a subculture and location in the social structure. A review of the way mainstream research has characterized the viewing…

A computerized information system was developed from specifications of 40 data elements to provide a database for decision making about problems relating to new admissions standards on a multi-campus, open admissions university. For over 400 entering freshman, multivariate analysis of the data elements and other standard predictors was used to…

The use of of the Automatic Interaction Detector (program AID3 of the OSIRIS statistical package) to study a university program is discussed. The performance of students who took general physics lecture and laboratory concurrently is compared to the performance of those who took them separately. Five years of data are analyzed, covering 1,997…

A study examined the reading skills of minority and bilingual auto mechanics and office workers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in order to determine the relationship between the reading skills tested in competency-based exams given in high schools and those required for on-the-job performance. The first phase of the study included both…

Structural-interactive vocational theory shows that both aspirational and work histories have continuity over the life span and provide useful explanations of stability and change. This paper suggests some implications of structural-interactive theory for the study of adult development. Common principles of structural-interactive theories are…

The relationships among test scores from the American College Testing program test (ACT), the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST), the American College Testing College Outcomes Measures Project test (ACT COMP), the National Teacher Examinations (NTE), final grade point average (GPA) in the major field of study, and overall GPA were studied in 615…

The relationship of comprehension monitoring to writing was investigated in a multiple-measure, longitudinal study of writing skill development. Subjects were approximately 100 elementary school students who were followed during the first three grades. At the end of first grade, relationships were found between ambiguity detection, reading, and…

Factors affecting the motivation of high school students to learn to use computers were examined in this study. The subjects were 160 students enrolled in a large city high school, 89 females and 71 males who represented five ethnic groups--White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian. The majority of subjects had prior computer coursework…

The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) is the most recent in a series of longitudinal studies conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics at the United States Department of Education. The NELS:88 began with a baseline assessment of school experiences, with the purpose of relating these experiences to current…

The Child Abuse Potential Inventory was completed by 56 Head Start staff. Because the Head Start program creates an environment where staff work almost exclusively with parents or with children, it was possible to examine the perceived differences among workers attracted to child or parent work. Scores for classroom and non-classroom staff were…

The relationships typically existing between scores on reading tests and college grades are described. The four purposes are to: present some of the typical relationships between reading ability and college success; report upon some of the evidence supporting other possible predictors of college success; describe some of the problems associated…