High-school male and female students completed a survey on perceptions regarding nonconsensual sexual activity. Females, blacks, and students with low academic achievement were significantly more likely to perceive that all or most of their close friends were having sex. Females were more knowledgeable than males about nonconsensual sexual…

A survey of teachers of the visually impaired and adults with albinism or parents of children with albinism (total responses=144) found no use of Braille by the adults or children with albinism, awareness of the condition by almost all teachers, support for mainstreaming by all, and specific teaching suggestions from teachers. (DB)

Reports on a descriptive profile of college students' HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Students reported good HIV knowledge and positive attitudes regarding infected individuals but also reported high risk behaviors. It is proposed that information from this study will supply useful information for national health objectives for…

Dictated words and pictures by 48 young French children, aged 3 to 6 years, demonstrated that young children have the capacity to produce graphics that exhibit some of the characteristics of writing. Developmental stages in children's recognition that their own efforts were not true writing were identified. (SLD)

Epistemological beliefs and relationships between belief in simple knowledge and mathematical text comprehension were examined in 2 experiments involving 412 college students. Regression analyses indicate that the less students believe in simple knowledge the better their performance on a mastery test and the more accurate their assessment of…

Three popular videotapes were assessed for their effectiveness in improving knowledge and attitudes about acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). University students (n=144) completed knowledge and attitude questionnaires and then viewed tapes. A conclusion was that tapes about AIDS can lead to modest changes in knowledge and perhaps in…

This paper argues that, if teachers are to be held accountable for instructional quality, then the educational establishment must be held accountable for providing teachers with relevant knowledge and the feasible professional tools derived from that knowledge. Suggestions are offered for developing this accountability, such as field testing…

Discusses the frequent misconception displayed by students that chromosome structure is a function of chromosome number or ploidy. Provides detailed analyses of the evidence concerning the prevalence of this ploidy/structure misconception among students of introductory genetics and the potential sources for inaccurate communication that it can…

Researchers assessed grading practices in college personal health (PH) courses, examining students' PH grades and comparing them with other course grades for 29 semesters. Certain students completed the Health Knowledge Inventory before and after PH courses. Though PH students received relatively high grades, they experienced only modest health…

To compare the effectiveness of parents and teachers as instructors of a personal safety program, 61 low-income preschoolers participated in either a home-based, school-based, or control program. No significant differences were found between groups taught by teachers or parents. Both groups demonstrated greater knowledge of sexual abuse and…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) makes possible comparison of groups of students and provides information about what these groups know and can do. The scale anchoring techniques described in this chapter address the latter purpose. The direct method and the smoothing method of scale anchoring are discussed. (SLD)

Mental health counselors (n=90) rated 24 items as particularly important in working with clients with mental retardation or psychiatric disturbances. Knowledge and skills rated as significant included areas such as counseling relationship, dealing with specific psychiatric disorders, training clients in specific behavioral skills, and dual…

Results with 47 first graders, 54 third graders, and 52 fifth graders of high and low intelligence quotient (IQ) on a task involving recall of classmate pictures indicate that memory benefits associated with being an expert are associated with greater knowledge rather than with motivation. (SLD)

Uses data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to argue that achievement growth in reading, mathematics, and science is possibly constrained by the (declining) growth and distribution of general intelligence. The failure of school practices to boost general intelligence would explain the disappointing effects of school reform…

Evaluation of an "Understanding Learning Disabilities" (ULD) course at Lesley College (Massachusetts) concluded that the ULD course was effective in expanding learning-disabled students' knowledge base regarding their disability and in teaching them to apply their self-understanding in a social context. Moreover, students' performance on…