A case study of 1100 high school teachers in a large urban district that has experienced declining enrollment for eight years illustrates several of the exit options and career mobility effects of riffing (reduction in force). The findings show that during decline, freely chosen movement out (exit), or laterally (moderate number of location…

Popular notions of poverty in America overlook the rural poor or assume that their problems are the same as those of the inner-city poor. This report, the first in a series on rural poverty, describes the characteristics of the rural poor and examines rural-urban differences in poverty. In 1987, the poverty rate was 16.9% in nonmetropolitan areas,…

This study sought to determine if significant differences exist between the degree of academic achievement of 10th grade students who currently reside in one-parent/guardian homes as compared to those who reside in two-parent/guardian homes when students are grouped by sex, total family income, and ethnicity. Academic success was determined by the…

In an effort to improve the reliability of the Noncognitive Questionnaire (NCQ), the instrument was revised and the revision's reliability and validity were examined examined with black and white college freshmen. The NCQ measures eight non-traditional or non-cognitive variables that relate to minority student retention. The revised NCQ is…

Disparities in rates of mobility among groups in the population have long been of interest as indicators of potential differences in access to economic and social opportunities. Racial differentials in mobility within the United States are seen as evidence of the lack of assimilation of blacks into the American mainstream. This paper tests for a…

This integrative study of student socioeconomic status (SES), race and gender focused on mathematics achievement and self-esteem in the school context. Data for the study were derived from the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment Program for the years 1981 through 1984. Analyses were conducted at the fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade…

The reliabilities of 6 item bias indices and correlations among them were investigated for each of the 11 tests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). The difficulty and delta indices detected group differences in relative item difficulty. Biserial and point biserial indices detected group differences in item discrimination. The Scheuneman and…

While many studies have compared race, sex, or social class differences in self-evaluation, the three have not been investigated simultaneously. To test the interaction of race, gender, and social class differences in self-evaluation and integrate it with the literature on sex role socialization, 57 black (29 females and 28 males) and 120 white…

An approach was developed based on item-response models defined at the level of salient subject groups rather than at the level of individuals, designed for use with multiple-matrix sampling designs. In each of three National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics subtopics, Reiser's group-effects latent trait model was fitted to…

This paper examines the decline in occupational segregation between black and white women over the twentieth century and analyzes how shifts in the occupational structure of the economy and changes in the racial composition of occupational categories contributed to this change. Overall, findings show that the decrease in occupational segregation…

During spring 1983, approximately 12,000 students who were enrolled in the court-identified minority-isolated (MI) schools in the San Diego City Schools were administered the appropriate levels of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS). The content areas of reading, language, and mathematics were assessed. In Grades 5, 7, and 9, all…

The mathematical skills possessed by students taking introductory biology courses were investigated. A list of 23 mathematical competencies was identified as part of the development of a 46-item multiple-choice test to measure the extent to which students possessed these competencies. The Biomathematics Skills Test (BST) was administered to…

The Science Assessment and Research Project conducted an assessment of the opportunities for computer learning in the nation's schools. As part of this study, 15,847 junior and senior high school students (13 and 17 years old) responded to a questionnaire regarding computers and computer usage. This is a summary of the findings: Opportunities for…

This article is a dialog between colleagues from different races who struggle with the complexities of doing qualitative research with participants who come from backgrounds that do not match their own. Based on transcriptions of extensive audiotaped conversations, the article explores issues related to studying across difference. The discussion…

In an effort to examine the effects of institutional racism on Native American preschoolers, a modified version of the Porter doll play and storytelling test was administered to 117 American Indian children (aged 3-5 1/2 years) and a control group of 95 white children comparable in age and geographical distribution. Separated into sub-groups…