Conducted in urban and rural schools in two provinces of South Africa, the present study reports biology learners' understanding of concepts about genetics and inheritance. Participants were Grade 11 and 12 learners, aged 15-16 years. The tools included a written questionnaire, interviews, pre- and post-paper and pencil tests and focus group…

This longitudinal study examined psychopathology as a predictor and outcome of organized activity involvement during high school among 198 adolescents who varied in risk for psychopathology as a function of their mother's depression history. Higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in eighth grade significantly predicted lower…

Using a nationally representative sample from the National Educational Longitudinal Study, this research examines the longitudinal effects of race and socioeconomic status on 12th-grade educational achievement and achievement 2 years after high school. For 12th-grade outcomes, the authors found no statistical difference in scores between Hispanic…

This report is based on the discussions of the February 2008 "Teaching by Choice: Beyond 2 + 2" conference, convened by the American Association of Community Colleges to focus on the growing role of community colleges as providers of teacher education and source of professional development for elementary, middle and secondary teachers of science,…

An expanding body of research suggests an important role for parent or family competency training in children's social-emotional learning and related school success. This article summarizes a test of a longitudinal model examining partnership-based family competency training effects on academic success in a general population. Specifically, it…

Monitoring the Future (MTF), which is now in its 36th year, is a research program conducted at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research under a series of investigator-initiated research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study is comprised of several ongoing series of annual surveys of nationally representative…

Teaching drama gave one instructor a chance to renew herself, and drama became an important part of a personal teaching renaissance. An elective class for grade 12 entitled "Humanities and the Arts" offered opportunity for collaborative teaching with colleagues in their areas of expertise. In a class on "Modern Drama" designed…

This analysis uses data on science achievement and transcript reports of science course taking patterns of students from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) to estimate the relationship between science course taking and the change in science proficiency levels between 8th and 12th grades. It also explores the extent to…

This booklet presents the Written Response part of the English 30 Grade 12 Diploma examination. After instructions for students, the booklet presents the first part of the examination in which students respond to Patricia Keeney's poem "Swimming Alone," which addresses the complexities of risk-taking. The booklet then presents the second…

This research report provides information about the school context for learning mathematics and highlights some factors that National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) analyses have found to be associated with effective schooling. Approximately 26,000 4th, 8th, and 12th graders in 1,500 public and private schools participated in the…

This unit is one of a series that represents specific moments in history from which students focus on the meanings of landmark events. This unit consists of lessons focused on selected topics in medieval history that define and describe the roles of women. The lessons examine the roles of women in the Early Middle Ages with particular emphasis on…

This report presents results of the 1988 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) survey of the geographic knowledge and skills of high school seniors. A national stratified sample of more than 3,000 twelfth graders from approximately 300 public and private schools responded to 76 multiple-choice questions about the following 4 topics in…

This educator's guide to the California Assessment Program's English-Language Arts test describes what California's new reading and editing tests do and do not measure. The guide states that each test form consists of one reading passage from literature, science, or history-social science followed by a variety of questions on word meaning and…

This grade 12 Diploma Examination for Alberta (Canada) Social Studies 30 booklet is divided in two parts. Part A consists of 70 multiple-choice questions worth 70 percent of the total score. Part B consists of the written response section worth 30 percent of the total. The student must choose one of two topics for the essay. The essay scores are…

This is the final test for students in the twelfth-grade course Mathematics 30, offered in schools in Alberta, Canada. Intended for administration in January 1987, it is available in both English and French. It contains 52 multiple-choice questions and 3 written-response problems, with 2.5 hours allowed for completion. Approved calculators may be…