Describing the "checkerboard" effect of legal jurisdiction over American Indians living on reservations currently operative under Federal, state, and local laws, this document presents a brief synthesis of the legislative history leading up to Public Law (PL) 83-280 and the Indian Self Determination Act of 1975 (PL 93-638). Specifically, this…

A series of six papers, this synthesis of literature on rural development and evaluation offers a starting point for rural development planning and projects from the national to the local level. The current state of knowledge is assessed and application techniques and methods are pinpointed. In the introduction, operation of the Functional Network…

Synthesizing two priority proposals identified by the Indian Education Project of Michigan, this report outlines a proposal for establishing an Indian Education Center (staffed by American Indians and advised by a University Advisory Committee made up of Indian parents and the Indian community) to meet the needs of Indian students and…

The result of a literature survey in the general area of rural-urban migration and poverty, this report presents both a synthesis of current research findings and an annotated bibliography. The synthesis includes a nine chapter discussion of: (1) the rural areas left by the migrants; (2) the decision to migrate; (3) comparative characteristics of…

Based on the available documentation of Title V (Rural Development Act of 1972) rural development programs currently underway in the Western Region (13 states), this report summarizes project endeavors to: (1) improve income and employment; (2) enrich environmental quality; (3) enhance social and health amenities; and (4) improve the quality of…

Based upon numerous government reports and evaluation studies, this report presents: (1) a brief sketch of the Federal involvement in manpower training and employment programs; (2) some impressions of the manpower training and employment programs serving rural Americans; (3) statistical information on the estimated number of rural enrollees, funds…

As a whole, rural New Zealanders are not deprived relative to the urban population, but the differences within New Zealand's rural population are as great if not greater than those among the urban population. A summary of studies on the pattern of social stratification reveals: (1) there is little tradition in New Zealand of separation of land…

The state of Connecticut has introduced a fourth-grade mastery test that assesses thinking skills. The test was developed cooperatively by the state's Department of Education, a testing corporation, and several cognitive psychologists; several alternative models of thinking were synthesized to produce a theoretical foundation for the test. (MCG)

Reviews the historical development of the periodic table, examining major changes due to understanding of radioactivity, synthetic transmutation by bombardment, differences between transuranium elements and the lanthanide series, and the transactinide elements. Discusses the continuing work on atomic synthesis and its importance in extending our…

This analysis reviews the data on two types of extended school programs--those that extend the number of hours per day students spend in school, and those that extend the school year. Proponents of extending the school day or the school year frequently cite examples from outside the United States, where the average school year is often longer, and…

The role of evaluation in improving academic performance is explored. A theoretical development of formative evaluation in higher education and a critique of higher education in the light of that theory is presented. Grading, feedforward, feedback, course length, and cumulative assessment are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Analyses of the results of 23 reports on coaching for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) indicated that, on the average, coaching can help increase SAT scores. The considerable variability in the results of 48 studies reflected the many factors influencing coaching effectiveness and the wide variety of study designs. (SLD)

Reports on a study which collated and compared evaluations of seven distance education courses in Hong Kong using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Conclusions about tutorials, group activities, interstudent contact, telephone counseling, and video and television broadcasts are synthesized; and guidelines for formatting…

Describes the use of a multi-part journal format, known as the synthesis journal, in academic assistance composition classes. The journal promotes students' abilities to synthesize ideas from four major sources--text, lecture, class discussion, and personal experience--and encourages higher-order thinking skills without shifting attention from the…

This article provides a synthesis of research in which parents provided academic instruction to their own children. The effectiveness of parent tutoring in 37 studies was examined across grade level, basic skill area (e.g., reading, math), training feature (e.g., treatment length, availability of consultation), treatment fidelity, type of…