This book describes and analyzes the educational and training needs of immigrants in the new and distinctive inflow that currently characterizes immigration to the United States, and the effects of pressures exerted by the newcomers upon institutions and agencies of education and training that are often unprepared for the task that is being…

The language arts program presented in this volume evolved from work with at-risk students at an inner-city high school in Tucson (Arizona). The original computerized literacy program sponsored by International Business Machines, the Principle of the Alphabet Literacy System (PALS), was expanded into a comprehensive 3-year program designed to meet…

In 1990-91, the Rockville Campus (RC) of Montgomery College (MC) in Maryland, revised its English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program to make it more responsive to student needs and begin offering ESL courses for institutional credit in fall 1991. Faculty at MC's Takoma Park Campus (TPC), however, objected to RC's proposed changes, particularly to…

Whether two-way visual contact between an instructor and students would promote dialogue during teleconferenced instruction was studied, and the types of verbal dialogues that might be affected by two-way video contact were explored. The following three types of instruction were assessed: (1) Group A, teleconferenced instruction in which students…

A study examined the results and effectiveness of the second year of the Reading Recovery program in New Hampshire. With the 29 Reading Recovery teachers from the 1990-91 class, 21 teachers in the class trained in school year 1991-92, and the two teacher leaders, a total of 52 teachers taught Reading Recovery during the 1991-92 school year. A…

A Content Alignment Committee defined the subject matter that beginning teachers who complete the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) program must understand in order to provide meaningful learning experiences to public school students. The committee met during 1997 to examine content standards in English/language arts, mathematics, and social…

This course is designed to enhance reading and writing skills. It is tied to an interactive computer program (The New Reading Disc) that provides opportunities for reading, hearing sentences read, and writing letters and memos. Special emphasis is placed on workers' understanding of the importance of their jobs and how they fit into the total…

The equating of reasonably parallel forms of College Board Achievement Tests in biology, chemistry, mathematics level II, American history and social studies, and French is discussed. Results of the following five equating methods are compared: (1) Tucker; (2) Levine equally reliable; (3) Levine unequally reliable; (4) frequency estimation…

This paper summarizes the March 1990 conference of the Asian Youth Substance Abuse Project (AYSAP). The conference's goals were to increase the knowledge and awareness of the San Francisco (California) community regarding substance abuse problems among Asian Americans, establish a network of providers committed to interagency coordination of…

A detailed analysis was conducted of the difficulty over time of the essay prompts for the English Composition Achievement Test (ECT) with Essay of the College Board. Differential difficulty was explored by considering whether the relationship between the reference groups of male and white students and the focal groups (female, American Indian,…

Information about limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) is summarized. In the 1990-91 school year, 5,047 students in the AISD were served in LEP programs at elementary schools (3,933 students), middle schools (555 students), and secondary schools (559 students). Most were Spanish…

This document contains a curriculum guide and lesson plans for a general mechanical repair course with three sections: minor automotive maintenance, small engine repair, and welding. The curriculum guide begins with a matrix that relates the lesson plans to essential elements of math, science, language arts, and social studies and to Texas…

In 1989, the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools received a grant to create an elementary arts magnet school and to enhance magnet programs at four other schools in Portland (Oregon). The Portland Magnet Program emphasized improvements in programing, marketing, and articulation between magnet programs, allowing the schools to purchase…

A study explored the effects of individualized, integrated language arts instruction on the attitudes of poor readers. A total of 63 elementary students participated in the study, 33 in the treatment group and 30 in the comparison group. Twice a week for a period of 12 weeks, the treatment group received reading instruction which incorporated…

A study examined how a teacher accommodated diversity in a fifth-grade classroom in an inner-city school during a 2-year project involving literature-based reading instruction with small student-led response groups called Book Clubs. The Book Club project operated in the classroom using the four components of literacy instruction--reading,…