This report assesses where America's Great City Schools (GCS) were on the National Urban Education goals in 1996-97 and how they compared to where they were in 1990-91. The National Urban Education Goals address the unique and pressing needs of urban schools and provide an enabling set of targets on the way toward achieving national goals. This…

This paper discusses degree attainment statistics and their analyses, particularly when applying time censors to the equation. The author describes at the High School and Beyond Sophomore Cohort Longitudinal Study, which followed a high school graduating class of 1982, from the time of its graduation until 1993, when most of the cohort was 29 or…

This study provides a thorough examination of the experiences of a group of students who transferred from a public community college in the Midwest to a nearby public residential university between spring 1994 and spring 2001. The study population consisted of 552 students who transferred from the community college to the university with 12 or…

This report describes a study of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), a reform effort tying academic achievement with district funding. The purpose of the study was to determine which variables best explained and predicted MCAS test scores (scores had been rising). One such variable was accountability. The report states the…

This study examined program participation and academic progress of second language learners, following a cohort of Texas public school students from the school years, 1992-93 to 1999-00 as they progressed through the elementary and middle grades. Researchers examined the following: changes in Texas policy related to students with limited English…

This study used publicly available information to identify institutional controllable variables that influence graduation rate and to group colleges using these factors. The dependent variable for the correlation analysis was the six-year graduation rate of the fall 1993 freshman cohort (as reported by US News and World Report) at more than 1,400…

This publication discusses education reform and the movement toward standards and assessments and its impact on students with disabilities. It is designed to provide parents with information about changes in assessment and graduation criteria, and assist parents in investigating the changes happening in their districts and states. Different…

The Grad Rule 101 Web site is designed to help college and university faculty with instructional support relative to enhancing preservice teachers' knowledge, skills, and dispositions of the Minnesota Graduation Standards. It uses a variety of tasks that allow preservice teachers to become familiar with the structure, requirements, and…

This bulletin is concerned with the status of, and progress in, the professional preparation of teachers, based on reports from State departments of public instruction and from those in charge of the institutions responsible for preparing teachers. Newer movements in the field have been stimulated by research in the fields of school organization,…

Studies predicting success in college for students graduating since 1980 are reviewed. SAT scores and high school records are the most common predictors, but a few studies of other predictors are included. The review establishes that SAT scores and high school records predict academic performance, nonacademic accomplishments, leadership in…

Asserts that students see grades as an indicator of effort unconnected to the content of the course while teachers regard grades as a measure of achievement within a discipline. Discusses some of the current controversies and approaches concerning grades and how they relate to school reform. (MJP)

Discusses high school dropout problem in the United States. Contends that a number of inappropriate hurdles have been placed between high school students and a diploma of graduation. Advocates a strategy of gaining small wins to help students complete high school and suggests specific tactics of a practical nature for school counselors helping…

A survey of four classes of third-year dental students identified six top stressors: examinations and grades, graduation requirements, inconsistency of professors' feedback, patient tardiness or no-show, atmosphere created by clinical faculty, and financial responsibilities. Also, 15 of 38 stressors were rated moderately or extremely stressful by…

Washington State reform themes include movement from input- to output-based systems, student performance standards, and certification of mastery; shift from standardized testing to performance-based measurement; blurred distinctions between grades and schooling levels; greater local control in implementing teaching, learning, and assessment…

Policymakers have long been concerned about the disparities in college attendance between more and less advantaged groups of students. Upward Bound is one of the largest and longest running federal programs designed to help economically disadvantaged students prepare for, enter and succeed in college. Since December 1991, Mathematica Policy…