When the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was designed 20 years ago, comparisons among individual states or localities were not deemed desirable. Today, this lack of information to allow comparison is judged to be a serious weakness of the NAEP, and ways to allow comparisons are actively sought. The focus of this paper is to…

New York State's prisons today are a brooding omnipresence hanging over poor African American and Latino communities in the large urban centers of the state. On any given day, nearly 1 in 4 (over 23%) of young African American men is under control of the criminal justice system, which is 2 times more than all full-time Black male college enrollees…

The use and analysis of student generated propositions linking two scientific concepts (photosynthesis and respiration) were examined before and after the study of photosynthesis. A proposition-generating task (PGT) was used as a diagnostic tool to indicate student misconceptions and partial understandings. Focus was on determining: how the nature…

Drawing on 1988-89 transfer data provided by the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the University of California (UC), and the California State Universities (CSU), this paper provides a comprehensive portrait of the flow and performance of transfer students statewide and of transfers from the San Mateo County Community College District…

In January 1991, a study was conducted to assess the fringe benefit programs of community college districts in California, and to determine the total dollar amounts paid to certified employees. Questionnaires requesting fringe benefits and salary information for 1990-91 were mailed to all 71 districts in the state. Rankings of salaries at three…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Task Force on Higher Education and the Schools calls for states "to consider the feasibility of developing a regional assessment of teacher selection techniques" (SREB, 1981). This recommendation reflects concerns about the need for: (1) more states to develop new teacher certification tests,…

Research into process-oriented writing instruction for native speakers of English can improve instruction in writing for students of English as a second language (ESL). Process-oriented instruction focuses on the processes of writing rather than on the finished product. A comparison of writing samples of native speakers from remedial courses and…

Several groups of hearing-impaired students at Gallaudet College (District of Columbia) have successfully completed their student teaching assignment with hearing children in public schools. Factors leading to their success were analyzed through results of observation, interviews, and a survey questionnaire administered to samples of both hearing…

To evaluate the effectiveness of a developmental composition course for students without adequate basic skills, a comparative analysis was conducted of the course grades of students (1) taking the developmental course, (2) repeating the developmental course, (3) taking the required composition course, and (4) taking the required course after…

A study examined the use of cloze procedure as a measure of learning from content instruction. Subjects were 35 physician assistant (PA) students in a cancer prevention course and 31 education students (ED) enrolled in reading instruction courses. Cloze passages were constructed from published selections on the reading process and occupationally…

How the theme of human movement--migration, and particularly immigration--can be integrated into junior high U.S. history and world history/geography courses is discussed. To avoid turning the study of migration into an unwitting process of reinforcing ethnocentrism, two steps need to be taken. First, the movement of people throughout the world…

Salaries of faculty members and administrators at the University of California and California State University are examined. Economic conditions nationally and in California are reviewed with specific focus on California's continuing revenue and budgetary situation. Attention is also directed to competition from both university and industrial…

An overview of the development of formal education in the Arab countries over the past 12 centuries is presented. The overview, arranged into five major sections, emphasizes the interplay of indigenous and foreign cultural influences. Brief sections on the Great Arab Age (7th-10th centuries) and the decline of Arab culture (11th-17th centuries)…

The five papers in this volume examine the methods, costs, and effects of traditional agricultural extension services and basic education and about the use of mass media for extension and education. The first paper, a literature review regarding the effectiveness of agricultural extension, reports that extension agents' studies of internal…

Designed to help university and college faculty, academic administrators, and testing personnel select appropriate tests for college admission, this booklet provides a comparative description of the three biology examinations offered by the College Board. In separate sections, the following topics are covered: faculty improvement in test…