Summarizes a survey given to chairs of search committees that examine the procedures used to hire psychology faculty. Data revealed typical search processes, evaluative criteria, and factors determining who was ultimately hired. Includes statistical tables showing mean ratings of the most important criteria used to evaluate materials and…

Special education teachers (n=108) were assessed to determine whether standards for acceptable student behavior differed as a function of either placement or instructional level of schooling. Differences were found only at the elementary level, where teachers in less restrictive placements (such as resource rooms) expressed more rigorous…

Examines sources of influence on inner-city students' initial middle school placements in English and mathematics and continuity and change in placements through the end of middle school. Discusses the various academic and socioeconomic influences and how they change throughout the middle school years. Includes data from a longitudinal study. (MJP)

Examines three English oral language proficiency tests in terms of whether the tests measure basic interpersonal communication skills or cognitive-academic language proficiency. Suggests that oral language proficiency tests should be academic in nature if their purpose is to determine whether language-minority students can meet the demands of…

Examines yobiko, Japanese supplementary education system which prepares high school graduates who didn't pass college entrance examinations (ronin students) to retake tests. Examines ways yobiko tracks and places graduates. Examines system's relations to high-school tracking and subcultures. Examines current reforms and yobiko's impact on ronins'…

The Special Education Tribunals, established in Ontario (Canada) as an appeals adjudication structure, have expanded the educational rights of exceptional children beyond the rights legislated in the Education Act 1980. School boards are required to consider the child's needs, the program of studies, the teaching methodology, and the philosophy of…

Describes a culturally relevant Spanish program in a high school that helped native speakers avoid failure due to culturally inappropriate teaching. The class maintained Latino students' native language and increased language fluency by developing thinking, oral, and written Spanish skills. Eventually, students previously labeled "at…

Compares and contrasts the issues presented in two books pertaining to child poverty, policy, and welfare reform: "The Welfare of Children" (Duncan Lindsey) and "Rethinking Child Welfare in Canada" (Brian Wharf, Editor). Both provide excellent analysis and recommendations but lack attention to tracking systems that place children in different…

Argues that tracking students for instruction is usually neither equitable nor effective. Reviews what has been learned about tracking, considers impacts of these findings, and suggests new research to target needs of reformers more directly. Understanding and changing the norms and policies that buttress tracking is essential to reform. (SLD)

This ethnography of eight lower-track classrooms in two schools gives insight into the operation of the tracking system, although it implicitly accepts tracking and does not face the injustice children experience as a result of lower-track placement. Broader structural reasons underlying the tracking system are not examined. (SLD)

Hamovitch's review misinterprets key aspects of the book and of cultural and curricular analyses in general. The book links the curricular dilemma in balancing individualized and standardized knowledge to the wider culture. It is not a defense of tracking, but rather a curricular and cultural examination. (SLD)

A 25-item Likert-type survey constructed to measure teachers' attitudes toward mainstreaming was analyzed using item response theory (IRT) and confirmatory factor analysis with responses of 917 Canadian teachers. A three-factor model fit the data well. Both factor scores and IRT scores can be used in discriminant analyses. (SLD)

For colleges and universities to recruit transfers from community colleges, they must make the academic transition smooth and easy, by identifying student needs and offering services tailored to meet them. Such services may include special orientations, career planning services, student personnel services, clear credit transfer policies, and…

Discusses a study which examined state use of prereferral intervention for students with handicaps, determining whether specialized training in prereferral is provided in states promoting it. Survey results indicated that 34 state education agencies promoted prereferral intervention, and 49 percent of those implementing it were trained in…

Reviews research on ability grouping, focusing on policies and practices that result in placing students in groups that are more or less homogeneous with respect to academic performance. It is concluded that ability grouping is ineffective at best and harmful to many students. It inhibits development of interracial respect. (SLD)