Academic risk taking--the selection of schoollike tasks ranging in difficulty and probability of success--was examined for 602 students in grades 4, 6, and 8 in Taiwan. Results of a self-report measure of tolerance for failure and a risk-taking task are discussed concerning self-enhancement versus self-assessment goals, metacognitive skills, and…

Examines gender and ethnic differences among Jewish and Arab high school students in Israel with respect to their causal attributions for success and failure in mathematics and language examinations. Results from 333 ninth graders show larger effects of ethnicity than of gender, with effects more pronounced in success than in failure attributions.…

Reveals shortcomings of elementary school evaluation and norm-referenced tests (NRTs) by studying the linkages between mathematics attainment of 130 inner-city high school students and their formative evaluation and between elementary NRTs and Scholastic Aptitude Test mathematics scores. (SLD)

A unilateral decision was made by the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Office of Academic Outreach and Support, and the Office of Academic Support and Retention (AS&R) to implement a pilot initiative for reporting, monitoring, and tracking excessive absenteeism during the Spring semester 2003. A…

This case study describes the 2-year process of moving a young child with severe disabilities and complex medical needs from a special school setting to a special class in a regular education setting. The child had Marshall-Smith Syndrome, characterized by respiratory, pulmonary, and skeletal abnormalities, and developmental delays due to the…

This paper reviews the research on fragile X syndrome, the second most common cause of mental retardation related to chromosomal anomaly. It notes that far more males than females are affected by the fragile X syndrome, which typically results in craniofacial changes, delays in growth and development, speech/language difficulties, and cognitive…

This study focused on the "failure" experienced by four female novice teachers who were successful in university course work but experienced considerable difficulty in their initial teaching assignments. The difficulties these women encountered are examined through analysis of observation notes, interview transcripts, journals and autobiographical…

"OATYC Journal," which is published by the Ohio Association of Two-Year Colleges, is designed as a forum for the exchange of concepts, methods, and findings relevant to the two-year college classroom. Along with commentaries and letters of reaction from the readership, the two issues of volume XIV contain: (1) "Focus: Edison State…

This study of students at risk was conducted to determine who is at risk, what puts students at risk, what schools are doing to help those students, and how effective these efforts are. Data were collected on about 49,000 students and almost 10,000 teachers in over 275 schools in 85 U.S. communities, and researchers conducted case studies of 65…

This monograph brings together what has been learned over the past few decades about children at risk, as it analyzes current strategies designed to improve student and school performance and proposes ways of achieving academic excellence with high reliability. Section 1, "Becoming at Risk of Failure in America's Schools," integrates…

The goals of this study of student outcomes were to find ways to better manage enrollments, husband teaching and administrative resources, reduce attrition, and better understand the needs and expectations of students. The study examined data for 2,262 first-time, associate degree-seeking students entering a mid-sized rural college in the…

American children do not bring uniform characteristics to the school setting. The at-risk student actually learns, behaves, and thinks differently from the student considered ideally suited to traditional programming. The poor "fit" between the at-risk students' natural characteristics and the expectations of the traditional school…

As dropout rates, drug addiction, and other problems continue to increase among youth, there arises a need for more effective approaches in dealing with problematic students. This book offers therapists and other helping professionals some practice-based solutions for fostering the healthy development of children and presents a model of…

This document summarizes droputs, transfers, and failures from the class of 1990 in Pennsylvania public schools. The total enrollment for Pennsylvania public schools in 1986-87 was 139,761, in 1987-88 was 133,449, in 1988-89 was 123,717, and in 1989-90 was 115,400. Over 40% of Black and Hispanic students who were in regular ninth-grade classes in…

During the last century, groups of Hmong people moved from southern China into Indochina, and, as war refugees, about 90,000 have come to the United States in recent years. This book examines the alienation and cultural conflicts faced at school by the children of a small group of Hmong (roughly 426 individuals in 90 households) who have settled…