This study used the Tinto Model to examine characteristics of community college students without initial plans to graduate, but who did eventually receive an Associate's degree from the institution. In 1991, a large midwestern community college began asking enrollees whether they planned to graduate. By 1994, sizable numbers of graduates had…

This volume is the latest in a series of reports that the Educational Research Service compiles every 5 years to provide comprehensive demographic data relevant to educational analysis, projection, and planning. It provides data pertaining to the size and composition of current and future student populations, as well as other demographic factors.…

This study used statistical analysis to determine the extent to which racial, ethnic, and gender preferences are affect admissions policies of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (New York) and the U.S. Naval academy at Annapolis (Maryland). The study used data for all applicants for the fall 1995 freshman class that included racial or ethnic…

As the first paper in a series of policy papers on high-stakes student assessment programs, this paper examined high school graduation tests. High stakes refers to the use of test results to make important decisions about the test taker. Whether to use a high school graduation test is an essential policy question that will be addressed in a…

A genuine concern for the condition of education in the United States has led to misuse of standardized tests to measure teacher quality. The tests have been used for purposes of admission, advancement, merit, graduation, and certification contrary to research findings and test developer guidelines. The current use of tests has resulted in…

Issues related to the Education Reform Bill of Ohio are discussed. Administration of norm-referenced achievement tests in reading, mathematics, language, and related school-ability tests is required for grades 4, 6, and 8 (effective by 1990) and grade 10 (effective by 1991). The reform bill specifies rewards and sanctions in addition to statewide…

Designed for junior high and high school students and their parents, this brochure explains the structure, function, and method for interpretation of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress. A question and answer format is used to provide information on scope and purposes of the tests, meaning and accuracy…

This is the first of a series of reports providing information and statistics on subjects of interest to educational policymakers and practitioners. Based on a research paper, "Course-Taking Patterns in the 1980s," by Margaret E. Goertz, the report's focus is on what is being studied and how this has changed over time (generally between 1982 and…

This document identifies strategies and procedures to overcome obstacles that hinder enrollment in vocational education programs identified by a task force of superintendents, center directors, principals, teachers, central office staff, state agency, guidance personnel, and representatives of the private sector in South Carolina. The document…

In its fourth year, Project Nuevos Horizontes served 315 limited-English-speaking, native Spanish-speaking students in fall 1988 and 300 in spring 1989. The majority of participants came from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The program's goal was to provide students with the academic and support services needed to ensure completion of…

The structure and content of continuing education and independent study programs currently being offered in North America (particularly in the United States) were examined from the standpoint of the feasibility of adopting similar practices and developing similar programs at the University of Queensland in Australia. It was discovered that there…

Many at-risk student intervention programs are not affordable for small rural schools. The Cooperative Alternative Program (CAP), a cooperative dropout prevention program administered by six western Texas rural school districts, is described in this report. The program is designed to meet graduation requirements, teach vocational skills, provide…

Graduation competency test results of 27 Spanish-speaking high school students in grades 10-12 indicate that overall oral English proficiency is moderately to strongly correlated with test passage in all three areas tested: mathematics, reading, and writing. These results agree with previous research. However, despite the intuitive appeal of…

Intended for students taking the English 30 Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in Alberta, Canada, this test booklet contains the composition component of the June 1988 tests. During 2.5 hours, students are required to perform the following writing tasks: (1) a personal response to an excerpt from Annie Dillard's "Teaching a Stone to Talk"…

This booklet provides samples of student writing that exemplify the standards that governed the scoring of student essays on the June 1988 English 30 Diploma Examination. Both major and minor writing assignments for seven students are provided, with examples of the full range of student writing. Commentaries accompanying the essays highlight…