Kindergarten children (n=161) screened with the "Early Prevention of School Failure" (EPSF) measure were examined several years later. Students who had been retained, referred to special education, or placed in special education demonstrated significantly lower EPSF scores. The fine motor and auditory modalities were the most powerful…

Presents a father's perspective on the outcome of tracking in school. Describes how a child with an early love of literacy ended up as a disabled reader. Points out how grouping and tracking systematically destroyed the child's ability and interest in reading. (SR)

Comparison of 60 junior high school students (20 academically gifted, 20 academic achievers, and 20 "nongifted") found that the academically gifted students demonstrated more negative affective and physiological stress reactions to an experimentally induced failure condition. (DB)

A study investigated the validity of six predictors of academic success after dismissal and reentry: grade point average (GPA) at dismissal, GPA at another school in the interim, composite college entrance examination score, semesters between dismissal and readmission, credits earned elsewhere after dismissal, and instructional level at dismissal.…

Professionals frequently are least able to learn because they have rarely experienced learning-related failure and are prone to defensive reasoning. Companies can become learning organizations by helping managers and employees learn to analyze their behavior and learn productively. (SK)

Argues that effective instruction for children with reading difficulties relies little on accurate diagnosis. Maintains that standardized reading tests can help identify children with reading problems. Asserts that children with reading difficulties would be better served by more instruction and less diagnosis. (CFR)

Discusses the impact of grade repetition on disadvantaged students, questioning why the failing strategy persists. Among the sollutions advocated are preservice teachers must learn to view student diversity favorably; and thoughtful teacher preparation and teacher selection are essential to the process. (SM)

Evaluated consultation program that provided direct academic intervention in regular classroom for children at risk for failure. Data indicated that teachers had increased requests for consultation to meet student needs; that, in comparison to other schools, participating school had qualified fewer children for special education services; and that…

Explores how schooling serves to perpetuate the social expectations that criminalize urban Latino youth, following a sample of eight junior high school students. Even more than the racism of individual teachers, institutionalized racism stereotypes these students as doomed to fail or destined to be gang members. (SLD)

Observes a 9-year-old third-grade student at home and at school. Reveals the disparity between Laura's highly contextualized knowledge of science and the school science curriculum. States that teachers do not value Laura's strong observational and analytical proclivities and that both she and her teachers think of Laura as an academic failure. (SR)

By analyzing an unsuccessfully implemented project (a federally funded reading initiative), staff at a Michigan elementary school gained understanding about the countless dilemmas accompanying the change process. Real and lasting changes must be related to positive existing practices and require adequate time, support, and collaboration. (MLH)

Interviewed 18 students from six middle schools to determine causes of resiliency in students. Found no significant differences in responses by race or gender, or by urban, rural, or suburban settings. Found that significant relationships with adults and positive use of time contribute to academic success of students from high-risk circumstances.…

Identifies factors contributing to urban schools' failure, including bureaucratic decision-making processes; outmoded, poorly maintained, and improperly designed facilities; responsibility overload; a new student population comprising immigrants, African-Americans, and the poor; rising security costs; inadequate staffing; and lack of political…

Concerned about working-class failure, argues that recent (British) government policies have insufficiently considered sociological studies on how social class affects educational success or failure. Social-inclusion policies must address forms of middle-class self-exclusion from mainstream public education as well as working-class social…

The purpose of this study was to contribute to and strengthen previous work that examined the long-lasting effects of Reading Recovery in statewide efforts aimed at bolstering early literacy achievement and reducing early learning difficulties. Specifically, the study explored the literacy achievement of Reading Recovery participants whose series…