California law requires sponsors of standardized tests used for admission or placement purposes in higher education to report certain data annually. Data on each of the 10 batteries of standardized tests affected by the law in 1987-88 are reported, and mean test scores are displayed for students nationally and in California if those averages are…

This study was conducted to investigate the relative importance of social and academic factors in influencing the probability of transfer from a community college to a four-year college. The structural model used in the study was composed of the following constructs: the effect of social class, race, and gender on students' academically related…

Reliability and validity of multiple-choice examinations as a function of the number of options per item and of student ability were computed for 435 junior class parochial high school students in the tri-county area of Portland (Oregon). The verbal section of the Washington Pre-College Test Battery was used. The least discriminating options were…

Many education reformers criticize the mediocre state of learning in high schools in the United States. In order to insure that all students have equal access to high quality teaching, it is argued that educators must explore the potent connections among school setting, ability grouping, teaching methods, and student opportunity to learn. The…

The problems experienced by nontraditional college students and the responses by colleges and universities are considered. The new students on campuses are adults, students from lower socioeconomic levels, ethnic minorities, and women. Since many new students tend to have academic difficulties, colleges have offered remedial classes in each…

Measures used at the Division of Developmental Studies at the University of Georgia in constructing a student profile (specifically, of high-risk college freshmen) are discussed. The areas measured concern: goals; learning styles; career exploration; stress and academic anxiety; developmental tasks; and locus of control. The goals checklist…

The study reported in this paper quantitatively integrated the recent research findings on ability grouping in order to generalize about these effects on student achievement and student self-concept. Meta-analysis was used to statistically integrate the empirical data. The relationships among various experimental variables including grade level,…

Using data from the Project Talent study of the high school class of 1961 and the National Longitudinal Study of the high school class of 1972 (NLS), current patterns of enrollment in post secondary education were compared with patterns of ten years ago. Differences in college entry rates were examined among groups defined by sex, ability, ethnic…

Michael's Informal Test of Student Ability (MITOSA) is a diagnostic evaluative tool for adult students designed to test nine skills abilities in adult students functioning below a tenth grade level. The nine test sections are approximate reading level, understanding of basic math concepts and symbols, general thinking/reasoning ability, eye-hand…

Monitoring and subsequently simulating student transfer patterns from one academic major (or level) to another typically enables an institution to estimate future student enrollment distributions across academic areas. At the University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC), a student flow model not only simulates the patterns of student transfer but also…

Appropriateness indexes (statistical formulas) for detecting suspiciously high or low scores on aptitude tests were presented, based on a simulation of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) with 3,000 simulated scores--2,800 normal and 200 suspicious. The traditional index--marginal probability--uses a model for the normal examinee's test-taking…

A study of third-year medical school discussion groups was undertaken to determine how much the cognitive level of instructors' questions in small group sessions influenced student responses and whether these responses had any measureable relationship to critical thinking skills, or National Board of Medical Examiner (NBME) scores. The research…

The Student Achievement Diagnostic Questionnaire (SADQ) is described as measuring: (1) student self concept of ability in English, mathematics, science, and social studies; (2) student attitudes toward their teachers in each of the subjects; (3) student perception of the expectations these teachers have for student achievement in these subjects;…

In order to facilitate efforts to evaluate the progress of black students currently enrolled in several selective colleges and/or to develop rationales for extending educational opportunity to racial minorities, a study was undertaken to focus on (1) selected characteristics of black female students entering several selective liberal arts…

Dallas Baptist College (DBC) produced four videotapes for use in its freshman humanities course: The Heritage of Western Man. The videotapes were modeled on television documentaries, and included study guides with a student response and feedback mechanism. Under this system, class time can be devoted to discussion and analysis. Media cannot…