The Diablo Valley College (California) Research Office assessed the variation of grades in multiple-section courses and its impact on the ability to predict student success. All classes selected for the study were general education offerings applicable for the Associate of Arts degree and/or transfer, and were taught by more than one instructor. A…

The study explored the qualifications of learning-disabled college students by examining the academic performance (first year grade point average--GPA) of 179 learning-disabled and 249 nonlearning-disabled students classified by two objective admission criteria--either Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or high-school class rank. Overall, the scores…

Predictions about the use of new technologies in education are discussed, along with 10 mistakes that many higher education practitioners are likely to make. Events predicted to occur by 1985 include the following: 80 percent of all secondary and postsecondary students will own their own computers; 20 percent of all postsecondary faculty, 25…

Current literature suggests that a teacher's expectancies for a pupil may in part determine the pupil's subsequent behavior. This review asks how such expectancies affect the teacher's own behavior, with the goal of determining what teacher behaviors mediate the observed effect on the pupil. A model of this process is proposed. (Author)

For several decades, school districts have attempted to anticipate and plan for enrollment fluctuations within 5- and 10-year periods. From a variety of humanistic, educational, and budgeting perspectives, total district and school-by-school forecasts and forecasting models must be as accurate as possible. This paper reviews nine historical…

This paper reviews recent literature regarding the impact of teacher expectations on student performance. The first section reviews recent literature with respect to teacher expectations in which teacher characteristics were viewed as the dependent variable in the interaction. The focus of the second section is to review recent literature where…

This congressionally mandated study of the escalating cost of higher education focuses on: (1) identifying the cost of obtaining a higher education and determining how that cost has changed from 1976-77 to 1987-88; (2) determining specific causes of such cost changes; (3) forecasting the future cost of obtaining a higher education; (4) evaluating…

Enlistment intentions, educational expectations, and sociodemographic factors were examined in the context of their pairwise relationship to the enlistment decision. A model was developed relating enlistments to stated intentions and other variables. This model was then statistically estimated from a sample from the National Longitudinal Survey.…

An overview is provided of the demographic and economic characteristics of the geographical area defined by the Peralta Community College District's boundaries in Northern Alameda County, California. In addition, projections are presented concerning the population and economy of the county until the year 2005. Highlighted findings of the…

Futures study is a forward-looking equivalent of history--not predicting the future, but attempting to discipline our anticipations of the future (or of a future) as we perceive it now. This paper investigates the extent to which futures study shares with history and comparative study an empirical, as distinct from normative, starting point for…

This study of the market for media-based educational materials for preschool to high school through 1990 was commissioned to inform learning technologies professionals about the markets that show the greatest potential for their products in schools. Organized into five major sections, the executive summary discusses: (1) the current education…

A survey of nursing leaders was conducted to identify values, opinions and ideas about the baccalaureate nursing curriculum, and the views identified were analyzed from the perspective of curriculum theory. The population consisted of 488 registered nurses listed in the 1985 Directory of Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing. Data were…

This review describes Alaska's economic boom of the early 1980s, the current recession, and economic projections for the 1990s. Alaska's economy is largely influenced by oil prices, since petroleum revenues make up 80% of the state government's unrestricted general fund revenues. Expansive state spending was responsible for most of Alaska's…

A quantitative method developed at Stanford University that addresses programmatically the short- and long-term needs of the college physical plant is discussed. The approach allows the administrator to accurately assess funding resources for the maintenance program in conjunction with academic and construction programs. A special task force at…

Examples of the use of a mathematical model to evaluate the future renewal and replacement, or maintenance requirements, of the college physical plant are provided. The model, which was developed at Stanford University, simulates actual conditions at a specific location and allows resource allocation to be based on a definable quantitative base.…