Researh in motivation and learning has demonstrated that differences in instructional practice influence the salience of learning and ability goals for students. This study considers several factors that may influence teachers' emphases in instructional practices--teachers' pedagogical beliefs, their achievement goals for their students, and their…

This study examined the effects of different types of cooperative learning environments on low, average, and high ability students' perceptions of the middle school science classroom environment. Subjects were 15 teachers and 1,185 students from the sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grades of two middle schools. Data were gathered from a variety of…

This study investigated differences in freshmen to senior student general education gains across institutions of higher education, with varying patterns of general education requirements using a mixed-effect structural equation model. The subjects were 6,409 students at 34 colleges and universities nationwide. Study procedures used American…

This study examined factors assumed to influence children's help-seeking styles in the classroom in the domains of math and reading. Children's rating of their comfort in asking for help, and the relation between mothers' helping strategies and children's help-seeking styles, were also investigated. Fifth graders (N=190) completed questionnaires…

Tracking the changes in the community college from the 1960's to the 1980's, this report focuses on attendance patterns of community college students and relates them to students' educational objectives, fields of study, and demographic characteristics. The report relies on findings from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of…

The purpose of this paper is (1) to discuss a set of standards that can be used to evaluate potential assessment instruments; and (2) to use these standards to evaluate the American College Testing Program's College Outcomes Measures Program (ACT-COMP) and the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Academic Profile. Using the work of S. Messick (1975,…

Computer literacy has been identified as one of the most important factors for the effective use of computer-based technology in the workplace. Managers need to know the most efficient methods available to teach computer skills to their employees in a short time. Such methods need to be suitable for all employees, whether academically gifted or…

A variety of methods can be used for instructing classes having highly heterogeneous students, including individualization of instruction, homogeneous grouping, team teaching, and modifying whole-class instruction. Through classroom observations and teacher interviews, the prevalence of such methods in 32 second- and third-grade classrooms were…

Sex-related bias on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was studied in a sample of 1,112 students in SAT coaching classes who took the SAT. Of these, 1,028 answered an additional questionnaire (Appendix A of this report) about high school grade point average, perceived abilities, and background. Almost all of the subjects were 11th graders (97.8%),…

The United States is not doing as well as it could in assessing educational outcomes in the 1980s. The assessment movement of the 1980s indicates that its institutional memory is poor, and when coping with outside pressures, it is slow to recall how it coped the last time it was under pressure. It is important to remember such events and pressures…

The 1985 Buros-Nebraska Symposium was devoted to the broad issue of the influence of cognitive psychology on testing and measurement. The (1) "Introduction: The Implications of Cognitive Psychology for Testing" (Royce R. Ronning et. al.) lists four major issues addressed by the symposium--cognitive psychology as a basis for questioning some…

This investigation: (1) tested the ability of an a priori hierarchical structure of self-concept derived from the Shavelson model to explain responses to the Self Description Questionnaire III (SDQ III); and (2) demonstrated the application and problems with the use of hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis. A first-order factor analysis…

The essay defends the purposes, selection procedures, programs, and philosophy of the Duke University (North Carolina) Talent Identification Program (TIP), which offers systematic identification of and programming for verbally and mathematically precocious students. The Duke University effort was undertaken to fill a need unmet at federal and…

Factors pertinent to females in American science and mathematics-related disciplines are examined, focusing on explanations for the poorer representation of females, their lower rank, and their seemingly poorer productivity once within the professions. Using a multidisciplinary approach, some of the usual explanations for their poorer showing are…

This study investigated the influence of student and classroom characteristics on a sample of 17-year-old students' (N=1955) inquiry ability. The sample was obtained from a 1981/1982 national assessment in science carried out by the Minnesota Science Assessment and Research Project. Specific areas addressed included: (1) the effectiveness of the…