This report summarizes the results of a study conducted to provide a complete and documented picture of public secondary education in Massachusetts. The study involved an analysis of questionnaire data and transcripts from about 3,000 graduates in the 1984 school year. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: (1) How do student…

Surveys of faculty and students at Drexel University were conducted to assess the effects of the university's decision in late 1982 to require all incoming freshmen to buy computers. A May 1983 survey determined faculty experiences with computers, their teaching preferences, and educational backgrounds. Based on responses from 328 faculty (93%),…

Microcomputing facilities at Drexel University are described. In 1983 the university instituted a policy requiring all students to have personal access to a microcomputer. Students keep their computers in their dorm rooms or off-campus living quarters. To provide access to students while they are on campus, clusters of university-owned machines…

When a variety of groups became concerned with a perceived deficiency in public education in the 1970's, critical attention was successively focused on student accountability, the school curriculum, and teachers. This digest briefly reports on teacher competency testing. The 1980 Gallup Poll showed that 85% of citizens polled said teachers should…

Highlights of a public opinion survey on the quality of Chicago Public Schools are presented in this executive summary of a more detailed report (UD 024 295). First, characteristics of public schools parents are outlined (although parents of students in private schools and non-parents were included in the survey). Public school parents, it is…

Many sincere, well-prepared, and technically qualified teachers of English as a second language (ESL) are awkward in class, stressed, and insecure, showing little excitement or energy. The missing element in training programs for ESL teachers is a good basic course in drama. It is an expression at both the visual and auditory levels, is a medium…

The extent to which values of college department heads were linked to their attitudes toward selected educational innovations was assessed. Five deans of education were requested to select and rank five innovations from a list of 29. A list of the innovations, the Study of Values survey, and a demographic and descriptive questionnaire were mailed…

This guide for planners, administrators, staff, and teaching personnel of Ohio's current and pending bilingual education programs is intended to share the expertise of school administrators, bilingual program staff, and teaching personnel in the area of bilingual program entry and exit criteria, review pertinent theories and studies, and address…

Seventeen high schools, representing a broad cross-section of American communities, were selected to be part of a network of schools receiving help in reconceptualizing their existing general education programs. The two-year project involved meetings of the network participants with each other and with experts to help the participants develop a…

Portfolios are central to the Bachelor of Science program in scientific and technical communication at one large state university in the midwestern United States. At the beginning of the program, students who want to gain admission must submit a portfolio that demonstrates both their ability to communicate in written form and an interest in the…

The English department at Central College (Pella, Iowa) has implemented a program that involves the entire faculty in the development of students' basic skills. The program's support system for students and faculty includes the following components: a skills laboratory staffed by a full-time skills coordinator and by trained student tutors…

This article discusses the potential for discrimination inherent in competency-based testing and suggests some provisions which might be included in a fair competency-based program. Discussed are: (1) racial discrimination; (2) inadequate phase-in periods; (3) tests which are not reliable or have not been validated; (4) inadequate matching of the…

Students entering the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as freshmen in 1967-72 were followed for approximately six years after their initial enrollment to determine the number who received their bachelor's degrees from the institution. For all six freshmen classes combined, 49.9 percent received their degrees within four years, 64.8…

Two studies investigated the effects of earning college credits for freshman year courses--as a result of performance on the College Level Examination Program's (CLEP) General Examinations--on later academic success. These are multiple choice tests of English composition, social science, natural science, humanities, and mathematics. Both studies…

This report summarizes the findings of a two-year study on high school students' use of options that provide alternatives to the usual curriculum. Questionnaires were given to juniors and seniors as well as counselors in 29 public high schools in the San Francisco (California) Bay region in 1978. The survey posed questions about students'…