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 Van Buren Intermediate School District in Michigan has developed a comprehensive guidance program that has been adopted by a number of school districts in the state. The Van Buren model is designed to teach all youth and adults the career development skills of information gathering, decision making, planning, and placement. This document…

A sample of 15 eighth-grade Hispanic students in a bilingual classroom were used for a descriptive analysis of students' writing samples to compare their growth between pre- and post- writing samples in Spanish and English. This was accomplished by juxtaposing English and Spanish pre- and post-tests using the same holistic rubric developed by the…

The latest available data as of the end of 1989 is presented on the progress of African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and American Indians in postsecondary education. Statistics have been compiled on high school completion, college participation, and college completion obtained from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of the Census…

Lack of preparation and planning, lack of financial aid, and the complexities of the application process are the main reasons that American Indians and Alaska Natives do not enter or complete college. This guide provides information to assist Native American students in preparing for college and obtaining adequate financial assistance. Section 1…

This document describes a demonstration program that developed secondary level competency-based instructional materials for industrial automation mechanics. Program activities included task list compilation, instructional materials research, learning activity packet (LAP) development, construction of lab elements, system implementation,…

This study sought to determine and examine the barriers to student enrollment in vocational education programs, especially as they related to ethnic minority, economically disadvantaged, limited English proficient, handicapped, migrant, and female students, as perceived by students, parents, and vocational advisory committee members in the Yakima…

An intensive study of one desegregated school, located in a large northeastern industrial city, specifically sought to investigate peer interactions among sixth- and seventh-grade students in a racially mixed school. The basic data-gathering strategy involved observations conducted in classrooms, hallways, playgrounds, and the cafeteria. Observers…

Thirty-seven small high schools in 22 states, ranging in enrollment from 27 to 328 students in the top 4 grades, were visited to obtain information on the outstanding aspects of their educational program, teaching methods, or physical facilities. Information was also obtained from six teachers and one administrator from seven schools in the Rocky…

The "Assessment of Functional Abilities of Moderate Learning Students" test is presented, along with a list of objectives being tested and brief test administration instructions. The test, which was developed by special education teachers of Cortland-Madison, New York, contains test items for the following 12 strands of a curriculum for secondary…

Papers, panels, and commentaries (responses) are provided from a conference attended by traditional educators, vocational educators, and economists to discuss the impact of technology on vocational education in the high school and suggest appropriate responses. The introduction is by Stuart Rosenfeld. The first three papers address the theme of…

Designed to serve as a preliminary guide for curriculum development and science instruction in South Carolina, this booklet identifies basic skill objectives in science for grades one through eight. Categories of South Carolina's Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) for science include: (1) science concepts; (2) science process skills; (3)…

The relationship between educational finance and organizational effectiveness or "health" in 50 Connecticut high schools was examined. Data were collected using existing organizational health questionnaires and archival data. A sample was randomly selected from the population of public high schools in Connecticut. Seven…

University admission requirements and achievement levels at the time of secondary school graduation are compared for five countries: the United States, the Soviet Union, France, Japan, and West Germany. Emphasis is placed upon the structural and cultural differences in the educational systems of these countries. In addition to college admission…

Declines in high school and college attendance and completion for blacks, factors that contribute to this decline, and strategies for improvement are addressed by the Chancellor of the State University of New York. Black youth attend college disproportionate to their representation in the population, in large part because of the high school…