Explored the relation of self-efficacy beliefs to educational/vocational choice and performance. Regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy contributed significant unique variance to the prediction of grades, persistence, and range of perceived career options in technical/scientific fields. (Author/BL)

Describes a study that assessed the contribution of schooling to cognitive development by comparing the cognitive development for high school graduates and dropouts over a two-year period. Reports that the cognitive skills of students who stay in school improve more than those of dropouts and that dropping out harms disadvantaged students most.…

Results suggest that infants' errors in searching for a visible object reflect lapses of attention rather than systematic misunderstandings of objects or space and so are not incompatible with an information-processing account of early search. (Author/RH)

To evaluate prevalence of perseveration in early search, nine-month-olds were tested on both two- and three-location version of Piaget's AB task. Three principal findings emerged: (1) infants did not show systematic perservation on either location task; (2) they did demonstrate positive search skills; and (3) they searched using similiar methods…

Provides a brief annotated bibliography of books, journal articles, and ERIC documents on current problems in education related to teacher preparation and retention, the subject of this special journal issue. (GC)

In Israel, academic track placement enhances eligibility for higher education of all but the least able students. Vocational track placement inhibits Sephardims' already low likelihood of receiving higher education. (CMG)

Is your state making progress toward having a high-quality teacher in every classroom? How will you know? One indicator of progress in the Challenge to Lead goals refers to teacher compensation: "Salaries, benefits and incentives are competitive in the marketplace. They are aimed at recognized expertise, student performance, state needs and taking…

For virtually any business or organization, the conditions in which employees work drive their satisfaction and productivity. Yet, while business often focuses on employee satisfaction, many schools often struggle to address critical working conditions -- isolating teachers in classrooms with closed doors, denying them basic materials to do their…

The Washington state operating budget requires the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) to set biennial performance targets for each public baccalaureate institution and to review each institution's performance annually thereafter. This report compares 2003-04 academic year performance against those targets, as well as against baseline data…

This study was intended to serve as an example of cross-validating results from student persistence prediction models that employed commonly available pre-college student characteristics. The study investigated whether the accuracy of predicting student persistence would vary because of the use of present-year vs. previous-year parameters on…

The purpose of this article is to examine the factors that influence student attrition on a historically black college/university campus. This article examines the inception of the first historically black college and university and discusses the current trends associated with the attrition of minority students. Strategies are discussed that are…

This brief summarizes a study by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) of community college management practices that promote student success. This study addresses the limitations of previous research on the effectiveness of undergraduate institutions in several ways. It takes advantage of a rich set of longitudinal student unit record data…

Interviews and focus group meetings were held at 24 schools and 3 nonschool sites across Queensland (Australia) to identify current success experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, as well as effective practices that promote such success. School statistics are of limited value because Indigenous identification is not…

California created the Teaching as a Priority (TAP) Program to increase the proportion of fully certified teachers in low performing schools. TAP funding to attract and retain fully certified teachers in these schools was to be disbursed through the schools at the individual level (e.g., signing bonuses) and school level (e.g., funds for…

California public schools face a number of challenges, including low academic performance and a shortage of fully credentialed teachers. One way to address these particular challenges is through teacher retention. Experienced teachers are more effective at raising student test scores, on average, than are teachers in their first year or two of…