Examined in a longitudinal study were the effects of conditions on alternation and perseveration of eight moderately and severely mentally retarded institutionalized adults. Available from: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 355 Chestnut Street, Norwood, New Jersey 07648. (CL)

Provides a comprehensive review of Edgar Epps's and Patricia Gurin's major study of students in historically black southern colleges. Theirs is the first empirical study to illuminate the question of whether individual achievement and collective accomplishment are incompatible for blacks in the American system. (Author/AM)

Discusses results of a meta-analysis which sought to identify those variables found in research as strongly correlated with responsible environmental behavior. Variables found significant were: knowledge of issues; knowledge of action strategies; locus of control; attitudes; verbal commitment; and sense of responsibility. Proposes a model of…

Twenty-three mentally retarded workshop clients were assigned to experimental or control groups in a 10-day intervention. The introduction of music as a reinforcer and elimination of distractions were among easily implemented, cost-effective program changes which resulted in significantly higher productivity rates for the experimental groups.…

This commentary points out problems with the cultural difference and castelike theories of minority group school failure. It can be shown that both have some merit if studies are conducted of the reasons why children enjoy some classes which fit their peer group dynamics and reject those which do not. (VM)

Three groups of elementary school students, matched on reading ability and with similar cognitive profiles, were administered tasks assessing their inventory of reading skills. Results support a developmental lag model of reading problems of nondyslexic children. (Author/RWB)

The Learning Potential Assessment Device and Instrumental Enrichment are two much needed improvements in education. Used in tandem, they rectify previous problems of testing and teaching by providing an unbiased assessment device which does not rely on labels for categories of learners. (VM)

This study investigated the effects of past computer experience on the computerized aptitude test performance of college students. Subjects were 92 undergraduates who completed an arithmetic reasoning test by computer and a Computer Experience Questionnaire. Past computer experience did account for a significant amount of variance on the…

Identifies various theories of individual and group influences on the performance control process. Both Japanese and American managers have a Rational Man theory of the individual. However, Americans see groups as helping to reduce the risk of poor performance, whereas Japanese see them as enhancing good performance. (Author/LHW)

Describes the performance-based principal evaluation system developed by the Tupelo Public School District (Mississippi). Nine data collection instruments are outlined, as are the methods used to collect the data. Included with the article are two forms: the "Survey of Teacher Opinion" and the "Parent Opinion Summary Form." (MD)

Identifies a four-step process for giving task instructions for small groups: (1) give the rationale, (2) explain the task, (3) define the context, and (4) explain what is to be reported. (CT)

Describes an instructional performance engineering model for changing ineffective instructional practices. The model postulates that attempts to change instructor practices should concentrate on instructional performance variables that can be directly influenced: information, instrumentation, and motivation. The model relates these variables to…

Kindergarten, second-grade, and fifth-grade students reconstructed an episode from an array of pictures and foils. Generally, children integrated picture sequences into logically ordered episodes whenever sequence structure encouraged such organization. Among the results, recall of logical sequences surpassed that of illogical sequences at all…

Results revealed that arithmetic-disabled and spelling/arithmetic-disabled children had significantly lower storage and retrieval scores on a nonverbal task but did not differ on a verbal task; reading/spelling-disabled children differed only on retrieval scores from verbal task; and the reading/spelling/arithmetic-disabled children differed only…

Describes the long-term effects of a bilingual education program on the academic achievement of Mexican-American students in a predominantly Mexican-American school district. Examines program impact on reading and mathematics achievement over a six-year period. Analyzes the effects on achievement of four variables: preachievement, gender, age, and…