The Eckerd Wilderness Educational System provides emotionally disturbed children with alternative education in a year-round wilderness camp setting. Journal availability: see RC 503 504. (SB)

Assessment generally refers to large-scale, system-wide measurement programs for pupil diagnosis; pupil certification; program evaluation; research; accountability; resource allocations; or teacher evaluation. The purpose of assessment should determine the test content, construction, administration, and examinees sampled. Assessment methods for…

The role of standardized tests in American education is being challenged as many feel that they are unfair and actually reinforce and legitimize existing inequalities. The Educational Testing Service, the SAT, meritocracy, test coaching, and economic bias are discussed. (MLW)

Describes a study using the Student Reactions to College (SRC) questionnaire to investigate students' perceptions of General College of the University of Minnesota, comparing students by age, race, and socioeconomic status. The SRC contained 150 items in the areas of the instructional process, student goals, college administration, and…

Questionnaire results from l04 psychologists serving the blind and partially sighted indicated disagreement on the tests used and on the evaluation of these tests. Tests of all kinds from 45 publishers were rated, and appropriate ages and populations (blind, partially-sighted) were suggested. (CP)

In an expansion of his paper presented at the American Bar Association's 1978 annual meeting, Professor Goetz reviews the 1977 Supreme Court labor law decisions, focusing on employment discrimination cases and the legality of affirmative action programs in the decision in Board of Regents of the University of California v Bakke. (MF)

Playing simulation games is seen as having obvious educational value with players learning through personal involvement. Several games are described, including Communication Networks, Heating and Air-Conditioning (HAC), Construction Management Game, Semiotics, Awards, Blocks, Would You Like to Be an Architect?, POLIGRIP, and PASS. (MLW)

Maintains that there is an inconsistency in the regression analysis of the data presented in Maureen J. Lage and Michael Treglia's 1996 article, "The Impact of Integrating Scholarship on Women into Introductory Economics." The authors admit the error, correct it, and report no difference in their original conclusions. (MJP)

Reprints the California State Board of Education's resolution to endorse Character Counts! Week. Asserts that all educators are obliged to awaken youth to the moral and ethical values that build a fundamental strength of character. Identifies elements of character that are embedded in all curriculum frameworks. (MJP)

Describes a political science course that attempts to place the complex contemporary politics of Southeastern Europe in a wider conceptual and comparative context. Discusses the unique background of the region. Briefly reviews the best literature on the subject, and provides a series of discussion questions and activities. (MJP)

Describes a school-based qualitative research project conducted at a suburban Virginia high school. Studies the behavior and language of disciplined students and posits seven different "predicaments" where obscene language occurs. Considers moral and epistemological issues as well as the students' perspectives. Concludes with…

Describes two studies of mathematical problem solving using an episode from "The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury," a set of curriculum materials that afford complex problem-solving opportunities. Discussion focuses on characteristics of problems that make solutions difficult, kinds of reasoning that dyadic interactions support, and…

Describes a research project in which the students examine data showing the income disparity between men and women. The students decide on which sociological theories might explain this discrepancy and devise a study to test this hypothesis. Includes instructions for the assignment and guidelines for cooperative learning. (MJP)

Criticizes the recent practice of inviting white supremacists and Holocaust revisionists to speak at local classrooms. Maintains that, rather than expose racial hatred and fanaticism, the visits may create credibility and converts. Suggests alternate activities for teaching about the destructive nexus of racism, violence, and ideology. (MJP)

Examined socioemotional adjustment, academic performance, and global well-being of adolescents in intact first-married, divorced single-parent, step-, and continuously single mother families. Found that adolescents in first-married families have slightly higher scores on all three dimensions, but few differences are statistically significant. Also…