Data from the College Entrance Examination Board's Comparative Guidance and Placement (CGP) Program were used in these two studies of students at Central Virginia Community College (CVCC). In the first study, 1971 fall quarter performance in specific courses and in all courses was compared to CGP performance. The conclusions indicate that: (1) CGP…

This investigation was conducted as an attempt to document certain aspects of small group work and their relationships with process education. Particular attention was given to such student characteristics as ability levels, quality of group performance, and attitudes toward problem solving. Small groups of students were videotaped while working…

This research investigated the model that proposes that significant others affect self-concept of academic ability which affects achievement. The statistical method used was path analysis. The population studied consisted of low-achieving black students. The model was not substantiated for students who had negative (defensive) attitudes towards…

The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of both applicants and acceptees to U.S. medical school first-year classes for the 1975-76 academic year. Primarily a replication of the previous year's study, it (1) reports on application activity both at the national level and for individual medical schools, and (2) analyzes…

Outlines the achievements and the difficulties that occurred in the first year of a research project on the development of writing abilities in the senior years of western Australian high schools. (RL)

Videotaped classroom discussions of first-year home economics teachers and senior high school students were analyzed according to levels of cognitive behaviors exhibited. Various measures of cognitive interaction were used. There appeared to be some relationship between student learning and teacher behaviors over a period of time. (MF)

Selected units from a series of 26 activities on the concepts of force, pressure, density and upthrust are provided. The units are intended to be used in a modular approach in such a way as to allow students at different developmental levels to gain an understanding of these ideas appropriate to their abilities. (CP)

Reports on an investigation into the differences in classroom climate and science-related attitudes among junior high school science classes on students in Taiwan. Most of the differences in classroom climate, student attitude, and their interactions were attributed to school location (metropolitan versus rural) rather than student…

Three studies with college students in educational psychology courses examined the relationship between achievement, effort, and perceived ability within a mastery learning contest. In no study did it appear that students reduced effort because of the threat of failure or that expending effort led to lower estimates of ability. (Author/BS)

Describes a study which sought to determine whether differences existed between girls and boys in terms of their concept structure interrelatedness competence (ConSIC) in the areas of physical science, life science, earth sciences, between sciences, within sciences and across all sciences by measuring ConSIC. (ML)

Describes development of a causal model to test effects of scholastic ability, computing attitudes, and computing background of university undergraduates on use of a computer-assisted instructional system, PLATO-LDEC; on attitudes toward PLATO-LDEC; on computing attitudes after students' PLATO-LDEC experience; and on course grade. (Author/MBR)

If the quality of higher education is to be examined in enough detail to give some sense of the scope and level of its accomplishments, better kinds of information than those now available will be needed. One such possibility is the results of course examinations. (MLW)

According to Gordon and Bridglall, the ability to learn is more of a developed human capacity than a fixed aptitude with which one is born. They argue that the emergence of academic ability is associated with exposure to specialized cultures that privilege the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that schools reward. Children who are born to and…

This study examined the critical thinking skills of resident and commuter students during the freshmen year, controlled for precollege background and ability. Differences in commuter and resident students' experience, particularly aspects of academic and social integration were also considered. The study sample was a subset taken from a national…

It is a common belief that children will thrive if educated amongst better class and schoolmates. It is a belief that guides many parents in their choice of school, and has important implications for policy on school choice and organisation. Many studies have tried to measure this "peer-group" effect, but the enterprise is plagued by…