Twenty-seven boys (ages 8-11) with hyperactive disorder and 28 boys with hyperactive-aggressive disorder were administered methylphenidate. No significant results were found for the hyperactive disorder group in either reading recognition or comprehension. The hyperactive-aggressive group improved in reading comprehension, with no effect resulting…

Linguistic and cognitive development of 26 premature and 27 full-term infants was studied longitudinally over the first 3 years of life. Patterns of lexical and cognitive development did not differ substantially between groups, nor did standard language test measures indicate differences at the study's end except with very low birthweight…

Eleven learning-handicapped students (ages 8-13) worked in dyads during a microcomputer-based writing activity, and their behaviors were coded as initiations/responses, verbal/nonverbal. Overall, student interactions had a negative impact on story production. Students exhibited higher levels of assertive, demanding behavior than requests for peer…

This study found that, in a task context, differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) effectively reduced problem behavior and increased task performance of 2 adolescents with severe disabilities (ages 15 and 19), whereas a time-out procedure was ineffective. In a leisure context, time-out was effective while DRO was ineffective.…

Three studies explored age changes and individual differences in preschoolers' sustained attention in different contexts. Found that changes occurred earlier for play and television viewing than for reaction time tasks. Results suggest that children have stable tendencies to sustain attention but that attention varies with task demands and…

Assesses students' post-college earnings as a specific outcome of a community college education. Describes the economic benefits of a community college education, outlines methodologies used to evaluate students, and discusses policy implications of accountability and performance measures. Contains 31 citations. (VWC)

Discusses accountability in Florida colleges, specifically the movement toward providing state funds to public higher education institutions based on student outputs and outcome--including post-graduation earnings--instead of full-time equivalency enrollment data. Describes several related legislative policies, including the Workforce Florida Act…

The effect that mode of administration, computer versus paper and pencil, had on the performance of 120 middle school students on multiple choice and written test questions was studied. Results show that, for students accustomed to writing on computers, responses written on the computer were more successful. Implications for testing are discussed.…

Examined impact of phonological-awareness training with or without explicit attention to articulation and with or without manipulation of sounds. Subjects were 7- to 11-year olds with reading difficulties. Found that children in all training conditions outperformed controls on all tests except math. Individual differences in response related to…

This study assessed factors contributing to global program quality in 180 community-based child-care centers in North Carolina. Inclusive early-childhood programs scored higher on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale. Other predictors of global program quality included teacher education, professional experience, and teacher self-ratings of…

Examined whether indexes of verbal imprecision could be quantified and used to predict changes in fifth graders' problem-solving performance. Found that four types of verbal imprecision predicted improved performance: false starts and self-repairs, deletions, long pauses, and metacognitive comments. Results suggested that adopting a new approach…

Examines the extent of attainment of managerial skills through distance education, the impact of multimedia on career of learners and the influence of acquired managerial skills on the managerial performance. Findings revealed that the multimedia materials helped greatly in the development of managerial skills, which facilitates the performance of…

Determines when U.S. children begin to self-handicap, that is, to reduce preparation effort before evaluations. Finds that the high-self-esteem third graders acted adaptively by practicing more for the evaluation task, while the high-self-esteem sixth graders prepared more only if they had been reminded of their personal resources beforehand. (CMK)

Studied 8- and 11-year-olds as evaluators of peer group entry and limited resources. Found older children evaluated peers more positively than did younger for limited resources conflicts. Found all children evaluated the focal peer's intentions during group entry more negatively than intentions during limited resources and evaluated peer responses…

Compared the rational quality of fourth-graders' discussion of literary texts with an ideal model and over the course of the academic year. Analyzed the collaborative reasoning capabilities of 6 three-student groups using a graphical coding system with an analysis of the literary content of the students' argumentation. Identified important…