Reports the results of a study conducted to see if rewriting content material for greater readability would help students reading below grade level. Sees possible value to such an approach. (JL)

When groups of children were given a test of visual performance designed to measure their dark interval threshold, differences were found between boys and girls and differences were found indicating that those children who had a moderate threshold showed superior reading ability. (MKM)

Reports that entering college freshmen with low predicted grade point averages achieved significantly higher grade point averages after completing lessons on how to analyze and manipulate information than did students who received no such instruction. (DD)

A possible solution is discussed to the problem of what mathematics to teach low achievers. The three main aspects are very basic mathematics, calculators, and confidence. (MP)

The use of audio tapes, worksheets, and commercial materials allows this program successfully to teach low achievers basic English skills with a low teacher-to-student ratio and self-paced lessons. (MP)

The effects of a task-focused goals (TFG) treatment in mathematics were studied with low-achieving students with or without learning disabilities. Results with 40 elementary classrooms showed that TFG students enjoyed the approach, but that increased effort was associated with greater learning only for those without learning disabilities. (SLD)

Studied how 25 New York school districts that applied for funding for corrective actions against low performing schools planned to take action. Also examined the extent to which school choice could be implemented in these districts. Overall, districts seemed unable to implement school choice effectively and did not describe effective corrective…

Assessed what urban African American custodial parents perceived as barriers to school involvement and strategies to facilitate involvement. Data from surveys of and interviews with parents of students at low-performing Florida elementary schools indicated that poor communication between home and school, lack of child care, and lack of…

Students completed the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory. Results suggest that small numbers of poorly attaining learners using dissonant study methods occur in a variety of educational settings. These learners are distinct from those lowly attaining ones who unreservedly use surface methods of studying and have low academic aspirations. (EV)

Biology examination scores for two cohorts of first-year nursing students (n=119) were analyzed. Factors having a significant effect on scores were as follows: previous study of biology, level of previous biology achievement, class attendance, and use of recommended readings. (Contains 19 references.) (SK)

One hundred sixty adult basic education students functioning at or below the sixth-grade level rated the extent to which they needed to learn 20 functional tasks. Factor analysis suggested three broad categories: everyday reading and writing, math and measurement, and special literacy tasks. Cluster analysis identified distinct subgroups based on…

Finds that college freshman in a remedial reading program exposed to semantic mapping instruction demonstrated superior posttreatment performance on both textually explicit and textually implicit questions, with no significant differences observed on "scriptally implicit" questions. (SR)

Eighty-five children with learning disabilities (LD) in grades 3-6 were compared to matched low achieving (LA) peers. Results indicated that the two groups were comparable on most social competence measures, although LD children reported themselves less lonely than LA children, and regular class children rated LD children more likable than LA…

Investigated impact of direct counseling center intervention on first-year college students (n=128) experiencing academic difficulty. Students received personal letter, follow-up telephone call, student-counselor interaction, and referral early in second semester. Students showed significant improvement compared to control students (n=70),…

One source of differences between the highest and lowest achieving children is the degree of self-regulated learning that occurs. High achievers engage in goal setting, planning, questioning, and other behaviors. By observing how children approach tasks and resisting the urge to "think for" less self-directed learners, teachers can help…