Factors associated with an unusually high rate of failure on the July 1991 National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) were analyzed for nursing students at Angelo State University in San Angelo (Texas). Of the 111 nursing degree recipients who took the examination for the first time in July 1991, 18 (16.2%) failed.…

This report provides data on the status of the 1985 promotion policy established in the School District of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), and highlights the policy's impact on students as of June 1991. The total citywide enrollments were 105,542 in 1988 and 114,092 in 1991. At the end of the 1987-88 school year, the promotions standards of the…

This collection contains 15 papers on issues surrounding equal opportunities in higher education for African Americans during the decades since predominantly white campuses became desegregated. Papers are organized in four parts: (1) Orienting Perspectives to the Study of Black Students in U.S. Higher Education; (2) The Under Graduate Years:…

A study was conducted of the extent to which the factors of selectivity in freshman admissions, ethnic background, and gender affect the retention and graduation rates of university students. Longitudinal retention data collected from 28 institutions in the Big Eight, Big Ten, and the Southern University Group (SUG) for the first-time freshmen…

The purpose of this study was to improve both statistical and judgmental methods for detecting potentially biased test items in an attempt to examine the agreement between the results obtained with these methods. If greater agreement between methods can be achieved, test items can be more effectively screened using judgmental methods prior to…

This document reports the results of two coordinated studies of early education and care in the United States. Information on child care demand was provided through the National Child Care Survey 1990 (NCCS), which involved interviews with 4,392 parents. Information on child care supply was provided by A Profile of Child Care Settings (PCS), which…

Rural public schools can be perceived as economic drains on community resources; they also can be perceived as being of inadequate quality, hence demanding more support. Educational critics, however, are questioning the notion that more is better and are recommending teaching fewer, more integrated courses, in longer time periods. In analyzing…

Following R. M. Kanter's (1977) conceptualization of females as tokens and extension of this conceptualization to males, this study hypothesized that attitudes of male teachers would be significantly related to the principal's gender. A significant interaction between the principal's gender, the teacher's gender, and the teacher's administrative…

This report evaluates the second year of the MacMagic program at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael, California. The program uses Macintosh computers, video cameras, tape recorders, and other related technology in a team teaching environment to enhance thinking and learning in an integrated English, history, and multimedia course. Children from…

Rapid economic and population growth characterized the 1970s in much of rural America. Unfortunately, this "Rural Renaissance" was short-lived. Although some rural areas grew or remained stable during the 1980s, many others experienced stagnation and decline, evidenced by a variety of indicators. This document consists of graphic maps…

The current situation for poor adolescents in the United States is reviewed in this collection of essays, and some strategies and insights for policymakers are presented. The essays of this volume cover the basic interactions of adolescence and poverty from theoretical and anecdotal perspectives. Critical issues of education and employment are…

These proceedings of an older workers symposium include the following presentations and workshop summaries: "Symposium Opening--Agency Welcome" (Dean Hewitt et al.); "Report on Job Training Initiatives of the Wilson Administration" (Thomas Nagle); "Older Worker Issues Update" (Dean Hewitt); "Summary of Report on…

This review analyzes traditional standardized assessment practices to determine if they recognize cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, and disability differences. It then examines the extent to which these assessment practices are being used in transition for decision-making and predicting post-school outcomes. The review begins with a historical…

This newsletter theme issue contains contributions by parents, practitioners, researchers, administrators, and providers of technical assistance, which explore aspects of the complex process of developmental assessment of infants and young children. They describe what is helpful and what can be harmful in current assessment practice. They offer…

A project was undertaken to test feminist teaching strategies designed to improve women students' confidence and engagement in the physical sciences classroom. The strategies under study included peer-support partnerships, writing in the learning process, and systematic self-disclosure by the teacher. In each of four semesters from 1991 to 1992,…