This report is distilled from Rand's findings in previously reported research and from new research. It is addressed to school board members, administrators, and other educational decisionmakers who may be contemplating a performance contracting program. The guide follows the life cycle of a project and identifies the three major phases as…

This paper reports the attempt to see which characteristics of the speech of Black and Mexican American children would be reliably evaluated by experts specializing in dialect study. Presumably, if selected characteristics were evaluated with consistency and bases for these evaluations were given, such results could serve in training teachers to…

This collection is composed of objectives and evaluation items in poetry, novel, short story, drama, and essay for Senior High, Grades 10-12. Each objective contains four elements: (1) the objective, (2) measurement items, (3) means for judging the adequacy of the student response, and (4) an IOX (Instructional Objectives Exchange) acceptability…

There are 127 basic composition objectives in this revised collection for use in kindergarten through high school. At least one evaluation per objective is given. The objectives are organized as follows: (1) Story Writing which covers fanciful and realistic types such as: myths, fable, short story, fiction, and writing dialogue; (2) Letters both…

This collection on transformational grammar has two general content areas: Sentence Components, and Transformations. The method of approach differentiated between traditional grammar and transformational grammar. The objective normally begins with a simple conventional declarative sentence known as the "kernel" which is then transformed…

This research contrasts the learning effects of an affective dimension of meaningfulness with the word-quality of consonant-vowel-consonant trigrams. Subject rated trigrams for both "association value"--having word-quality versus lacking word-quality--and "reinforcement value"--liking versus disliking the trigram regardless of word quality. Paired…

This resource handbook addresses the problem of illiteracy in correctional institutions and focuses on practical methods for improving the reading skills of offenders. It defines illiteracy, offers statistics on its incidence in correctional institutions, and lists barriers to overcoming the problem with suggested solutions. An overview of methods…

Evaluated was a summer program in reading and mathematics for handicapped pupils in special education classes designed to maintain and improve these skills through individualized and small group instruction. Initial diagnostic testing using criterion-referenced tests indicated target areas for basic skills instruction, which was implemented…

The System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) is designed for use in a culturally diverse society. The system was developed on 700 English-speaking caucasian children (hereafter called Anglos) from the anglo core culture, 700 black children, and 700 Latino Children (90 percent were of Mexican-American heritage) five through eleven…

Presented is a report on a cross-sectional and longitudinal study concerned with the course of intellectual development in 210 children (6-12 years old) educationally designated as brain damaged (learning disabled and/or behavior problems) and assigned to special school placement. The report is divided into four sections which focus on…

Reports on the progress being made in an attempt to establish a second language acquisition index of development that would gauge a learner's second language proficiency. A project was undertaken involving the analysis of 212 compositions written by university students of English as a second language. (CFM)

Describes the revamping of a high school physics course in which students are challenged by open-ended questions, assignments outside the classroom, guest speakers, a physics bowl and physics olympics. Reports on the increased enrollment in the course and the results of the students' test performance. (TW)

Data from responses to a grammaticality judgement test by 26 learners of English as a second language at two proficiency levels were used to investigate syntactic acquisition. Four syntactic structures were examined. Results suggest that less proficient subjects use syntactic strategies, while more proficient learners use semantic-based…

Fifty-one adult Spanish speakers at three levels of ESL ability were tested in both their elicited imitation (production) and act-out (comprehension) of complex sentences that were structurally identical. Analysis of variance results indicate that production tests, not comprehension tests, principally evaluate a learner's structural knowledge.…

Presents reviews of five computer packages: (1) "Algebra Attack" contains games and tests; (2) "Bootstrap Stats" requires learners to write programs while studying probability and statistics; (3) "Geometry and Microcomputers" contains 13 lessons on mathematics and graphics; (4) "Math Grapher" is an algebraic…