This booklet, part of a series of reports on "hot topics" in education review the research and conventional wisdom concerning retention and promotion and includes an exploration of alternative practices that can be used to prevent failure and improve a student's chances for successful remediation. The booklet also describes how two…

The purpose of this study was to gather data on possible differences in the teaching behavior of male and female teachers, especially in their treatment of male and female students. (Author)

Comparative research on the overall graded-nongraded distinction in organization coupled with specific investigations of nonpromotion within the graded model has yielded some preliminary answers concerning the effectiveness of strategies of dealing with the slow-progress problem. Some of the major unresolved problems are highlighted in the summary…

It is contradictory to expect all students to achieve certain marks and to master given course content and simultaneously to call some students low achievers to accommodate test distribution curves. Mastery learning, emphasizing students' learning rates and presentation of material, can help resolve this contradiction. (PP)

Hemispheric preferences of high and low ability, right-handed elementary school children (n=70) were investigated using the Your Style of Learning and Thinking instrument. Results showed a significant difference between the two groups on integrated responses, with the high ability group having a higher preference for integrated functioning…

A study was conducted to determine the effects of school and student selection procedures in Title I programs on the proportion of various student groups which have access to Title I services. The role of funding was also considered. Results of the study are discussed. (Author/MH)

Design projects by senior architecture students were critiqued by a faculty jury to see if students' judgment of their own work gained in accuracy after criticism and if good students judged themselves more accurately than average or poor students. Student reactions to the jury experience were also studied. (SJL)

Freshmen placed the greatest responsibility for their low grades on their own lack of motivation, improper study habits, and inattention to school work. Because of the predicted decline in the number of college-age youths in the 1980s, schools need to put more emphasis on retaining students. (Author)

Describes a reworking of a Title 1 program in Lake Forest, Delaware schools, to eliminate first grade retention due to substandard level of reading ability. The process included: (1) making reading fun; (2) new reading material; (3) parental participation; (4) scheduled reading time; (5) reading requirements; and (6) teachers' aides in classrooms.…

As educators work to pull together the various components of the Improving America's Schools Act, they must not lose sight of its central purpose, increasing children's learning. Guidance and assistance for low-achieving students must accompany a mind-set of higher expectations for achievement. (SLD)

Student course-taking patterns in seven high schools in California and New York that attempted to enroll lower level math students in more meaningful math courses were studied. Results show that the new transition math courses are partially successful in providing a common curriculum to students with diverse math preparation. (SLD)

A year-long study of an innovative approach to mathematics, which emphasized in-depth problem solving and achievement of automaticity through math games, found such methods to be viable for students with average and above average academic abilities, but students with learning disabilities or at-risk students need much greater assistance if they…

The second in three-part series on how the principals in 10 low-performing/high-poverty schools met the challenge of Florida's 1999 high-stakes testing and accountability initiative. Examines the challenges principals faced in trying to build organizational capacity from three perspectives: principals' beliefs and values, "it takes a whole…

Demonstrates the consequences of teaching rules without understanding using examples from two 3rd grade children. Suggests alternative instructional strategies. (KHR)

The differential effects of computer-assisted instruction for high-achieving and low-achieving students were examined for seven elementary students of varied background. Higher-achieving students were more able to adjust to the requirements of computer work and to derive benefit from it than were lower-achieving students. Implications for teaching…