Examining the grades for an entire urban high school in a Midwestern city shows that the distribution of grades among students remains constant at all grade levels, even though many students drop out. The result is a depression of grades and an increase in student dissatisfaction among those who receive the lowest grades. (SLD)

Describes a case study of a sixth-grade student experiencing profound difficulties in learning to read, and the instructional intervention that helped him make significant progress. Comments on the public school's responsibility to provide effective remedial instruction. (SR)

Reviews the history of the historically black Bishop College (Marshall and Dallas, Texas) and explores reasons for its closing in 1988. The impact of the Dallas Community College system on potential students is an important factor in the school's decline. Some weaknesses in the college's planning and administration are discussed. (SLD)

Classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) is described as a potential tool for preventing early school failure, with emphasis on three areas relevant to its successful classroom implementation: (1) the classroom program; (2) the administrative model; and (3) implementation quality assessment. Studies showing CWPT's long-term positive effects on academic…

Examined the effect of residential and school mobility in the academic performance of 5- to 15-year-old maltreated children. Found that maltreated children encounter more academic difficulties in part because they experience relatively high levels of residential mobility and school transfer. Found little evidence to support the role of mobility in…

Examined the prevalence of holding age-eligible children out of kindergarten in a single northern California county, and the changes in the phenomenon over time. Found a significant decline in the frequency of holding out for both boys and girls, but that boys are held out more often than girls and that holding out is positively associated with…

Critically analyzes initiatives of the South African government, business sector, and community that address with the country's high educational attrition and failure rates and inability to provide basic education services for three million children. Warns against initiatives fostering new elites and condemns capitalist, middle-class values of…

Phi Delta Kappa study collected data on over 21,000 students in grades 4, 7, and 10 in 275 schools in over 80 U.S. communities. Five risk factors emerged: personal pain, academic failure, family socioeconomic status, family instability, and family tragedy. Many teachers helped considerably with personal pain and academic failure problems,…

Interviews with 4 gifted learning-disabled boys, (aged 9 to 12), their parents, and their teachers identified themes in their social/emotional development including interpersonal relationships, self-concept, and learning characteristics. Unique characteristics included a powerful fear of failure, inconsistent social skills, and a fluctuating self…

Five matched groups of 15 children (ages 8-13) were compared to determine whether behavioral subgroups of children with learning disabilities (LD) form different beliefs regarding causes of their achievement-related successes and failures. The achievement attributions of subjects were heterogeneous and related to presence and type of behavior…

Discusses two approaches to minority education--the cultural difference and the secondary discontinuity--and presents a hybrid theory that emphasizes the role of compliance. The article then describes an experiment based on these theories and conducted by the Kamehameha Elementary Education Program (KEEP) with native Hawaiian children and with…

Reports on an eight-year longitudinal study of Dutch children on the relationship of the development of reading ability in primary schools with general academic success. Finds that young children with reading problems in primary school keep them throughout their educational career. (CFR)

Reviews 16 studies of 5 1-to-one tutoring models (Reading Recovery, Success for All, Prevention of Learning Disabilities, the Wallach Tutoring Program, and Programmed Tutorial Reading) used with at-risk first graders. Finds (1) substantial positive effects of tutoring; (2) effects of tutoring are generally lasting; and (3) results were more…

Rejects the hypothesis that low achievement by migrant children is because of deficient cultural attributes or institutional ethnocentrism of schools. Suggests that schools always discriminate--positively or negatively--when, according to their institutional logic, it appears to be appropriate. (CFR)

One hundred forty-six young adolescents and 166 young adults completed questionnaires assessing the appraisal of efforts to cope with 3 common stressful events--conflicts with mother and friend and failure. Significant correlations were found between appraisal and coping, and results suggest that coping is multiply determined. (SLD)