A British study examined nursing modules enrolling 10-174 students; proportion of grades from coursework and from examinations; and student questionnaires. Nursing students performed less well in large classes and better when more coursework than exams were assessed. In large modules, they used surface more than deep approaches to study. (SK)

Updates an earlier report to underscore the inadvisability of imposing large sections of freshman composition students on reluctant departments and to promote further discussion of the issues raised by the program. Discusses some of the more controversial implications raised by the program. (RS)

Suggests three ways to encourage administrators to reduce class size in English classrooms. Describes an effective presentation to the school board, a public relations campaign to educate parents and administrators, and a grant proposal for hiring a writing resource person. (MM)

Compares New York State and California public school spending and educational quality indicators. Discusses differences in class size, enrollment in elective courses, academic standards, and standardized test performance. (FMW)

A survey of 58 United States and 6 Canadian medical schools found class size, ownership, year established, and presence of a university hospital unrelated to number or kind of affiliates, but size of affiliates correlated with year of medical school establishment, presence of a hospital, and medical school class size. (Author/MSE)

Enormous funding increases for U.S. public schools have not yielded improvements in student performance. Econometric research shows that neither smaller classes nor graduate teacher training affects performance. Since schools use resources inefficiently, incentives should be linked to performance. Magnet and charter schools and private school…

Builds and estimates a model that explains educational supply and demand behavior at PhD-granting institutions in the United States. The statistical analysis based on 1988-89 data suggests that student quantity, educational costs, average SAT score, class size, percentage of faculty with a PhD, graduation rate, ranking, and existence of a medical…

A policy statement issued by Great Britain's Department of Education and Science on staffing for pupils with special educational needs is discussed. The statement proposes a staffing model that includes ratios of primary teachers, secondary teachers, and special support assistants based on students' levels of learning difficulty. (Author/JDD)

A survey of second- and third-year students at two optometry schools investigated how many students bought required textbooks, utility of the book, prices students were willing to pay, feelings about book price in relation to tuition, and reasons for not buying the text. Class size was also considered. (MSE)

Summarizes a major longitudinal study (Project STAR) conducted in Tennessee between 1985 and 1989, provides some results updating STAR findings through 1992, and suggests research-based courses of action. Class-size research in primary grades is showing the efficacy of small classes of 1:15. Application of early experimental results in 17 poor…

Describes the financing of a New York school district for emotionally disturbed children. Summarizes suggestions for controlling special education costs at the district level obtained from a nationwide sample of school business officials. Among the suggestions offered are to include a review of private placements and an annual caseload review,…

This article considers how to get students to form groups in the language classroom. It focuses on two related questions: (1) how big should small groups be? and (2) what other grouping criteria should be considered besides group size? (Contain 14 references.) (LB)

Most secondary school English classes in Indonesia are large, often with 40-60 students of mixed ability. Classroom management and student motivation are difficult issues for teachers. This article reviews various techniques to solve the problems, including teaching aids, group work, and group communicative grammar teaching. (Contains four…

Lack of statistically significant input/achievement relationships in many production-function studies has bolstered "money doesn't matter" arguments. This study uses detailed national student data to estimate an education production function that omits restrictive assumptions, concluding that school inputs (especially instructional…

A survey of 75 parents of elementary students with physical disabilities investigated their perspectives regarding the factors essential for placement into integrated physical-education programs. Results found they believed that class size, program support, physical and communicative skills, health status, and motivation were prerequisites of an…