Reports on two studies designed to prove three hypotheses: (1) five-year-olds can successfully learn a second language (L2); (2) early L2 learning has a positive effect on the development of children's cognitive and first language linguistic abilities; and (3) early L2 learning assists socio-economically disadvantaged children in overcoming…

Requests for federal aid from the Department of Education and other agencies are tabulated by category and are compared with actual fiscal 1988 budgets and estimated fiscal 1989 figures. (MSE)

Discusses the development and uses of various aptitude tests in higher education from the 1920s through the early 1960s. Although seen as a gateway to educational attainment for returning World War II veterans, intelligence testing faced criticism in the early 1960s as a restrictive practice. (MJP)

Explains the incidence and nature of drug trafficking and chemical dependency among adolescent black males. The paper also discusses the social science theories of Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Molefi Asante to better understand the behaviors, and the consequences of those behaviors, of young black males who participate in drug trafficking. (GR)

Presents strategies for improving student academic achievement and U.S. school productivity. Among the strategies are the following: making student achievement a priority goal for schools, enhancing and toughening the curriculum, managing all educational resources at the school and classroom levels, providing a variety of system incentives towards…

This paper reviews current practices in urban school districts, concluding that for inner-city children, special education referral, evaluation, and placement practices are not more effective now than 25 years ago. The characteristics and needs of inner-city special education youngsters and the difficult options facing school administrators are…

A collaborative consultation approach to basic concept instruction with 20 inner-city kindergarten children, which involved intervention by a speech-language pathologist, university faculty, classroom teacher, and physical education teacher, resulted in significantly higher performance on target concepts compared to a control group who received…

Examines educational services delivery to the entire school and to those who scored below the median on achievement tests in 242 Louisiana elementary schools. Results indicate that mean masking occurs in about 17 percent of schools, most frequently when schools do an above-average job of educating the lowest quartile. (SLD)

Investigated the meaning of segmented assimilation by examining the effects of physical location, mode of reception, and membership in particular social networks on characteristics such as fluency in English, school performance, and self-perception. Results among various ethnic groups show that identification of oneself as an immigrant protects a…

Compares the performance of similar preschool students on Spanish and English versions of the Lollipop Test: A Diagnostic Screening Test of School Readiness--Revised. Results with samples of 129 rural, 788 disadvantaged, and 148 bilingual children support the construct validity of the instrument and its Spanish form. (SLD)

Examines three theses that attempt to explain the rise of concentrated poverty and the growth of racial inequality in urban areas. Census data from 1970 and 1980 for Detroit (Michigan) provide the most support for the idea that economic decline and uneven economic growth are responsible. (SLD)

Based on data on 8,203 high school graduates from the national High School and Beyond study, it was found that socioeconomically disadvantaged graduates have pursued nontraditional postsecondary enrollment options (part-time, delayed, and nondegree programs), even when data were controlled for differing academic characteristics. Theoretical,…

Fiscal 1993 appropriations for Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, signed by President George Bush, include cuts in maximum Pell Grants, first in a decade, and little increase in funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH), among others. Requests and appropriations for student aid, institutional assistance,…

Effects of a restructured Chapter 1 program (RCP) on 45 first graders' literacy were examined. RCP students could read a primer fluently and performed better than comparison groups (students in the regular Chapter 1 program and classroom peers). Improvement was particularly apparent for those with the lowest initial readiness scores. (SLD)

Reviews evidence on institutional, cultural, and family background variables linked to the academic achievement of Mexican American students in elementary, secondary, and higher education. Considers educational policy implications for Mexican Americans. Segregation of Mexican Americans exists at all levels of education but is particularly apparent…