Studies published since 1965 on the relationship between classroom behavior and academic achievement are reviewed. Criteria are established for selecting the studies, the research is assessed, and recommendations for future research are made. (MH)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a longitudinal study designed to measure changes in the knowledge, skills, and understandings of young Americans, ages 9, 13, 17, and 26-35. This overview discusses some special aspects of NAEP, and explains its history and governance. (MH) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in…

Many states are turning to minimum-competency testing at the secondary school level. Although at least 17 states have enacted legislation that sets minimum-competency standards for graduation from public high schools, the basic skills testing movement at the postsecondary level is still in its infancy. (MLW)

A method for obtaining medical students' evaluations of multiple-instructor courses is described. Objectives of the evaluation method are: to increase response rate; to reduce administrative problems; to obtain evaluations at the time of the lecture; to avoid overburdening students; and to avoid confusion. (MH)

After reviewing some problems raised by Minimum Competency Testing (MCT), the authors present ideas on the role of the State Education Agencies in defining minimum competencies. Among the items discussed are the implementation time of MCT, curricular implications, the impact on children, the financing of remediation, and state versus local control…

Discusses the structure, reliability, stability, validity and usefulness of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) and the results of factor and regression analyses of data collected using the NBAS. (Author/BH)

Presents a longitudinal study on the acquisition of first-, second-, and third-person pronouns in 12 French- and 12 English- speaking children. Findings revealed that the mastery of pronouns did not follow the developmental sequence predicted by the speech-role hypothesis; the person-role hypothesis was valid when children were speaking; and the…

Examines the hypothesis that learners focus their attention on lexical instead of grammatical items when processing input for semantic information. The study measured language processing via reconstruction of propositional content and recognition of verb tense within a passage. Results indicate that lexical cues improved reconstruction of a…

Describes South Suburban College's implementation of the Structured Open Access Model, an interventionist system that responds to underprepared students. (YKH)

Describes a study comparing English course-level placement based on writing samples and standardized placement scores, as well as two different methods of grading writing samples. Results support the use of writing samples to supplement standardized placement scores as well as the use of a group holistic method of grading writing samples. Includes…

Describes a study of fifth-grade students in Taiwan that explored the differential effects of intergroup competition on intragroup cooperation and interpersonal relationships within groups in a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) environment. Statistically significant differences were found between the two treatment conditions (with and without…

According to newly released Third International Mathematics and Science Study data, American children may score low on international comparisons because teachers are trying to teach them too many topics. Surprisingly, Florida's minimum competency testing program has not increased low-achievers' dropout rate. A recent "American…

Investigated the psychometric integrity of the College Student Reasons for Living Inventory of suicidal behaviors in a sample of 511 undergraduate students from a large Midwestern university. Results tentatively support the scale's continued use and development. (KW)

Explores the role of sonority in constraining the word identification errors of normal listeners by examining the phonological relationships between response errors and stimulus targets. Findings indicate that sonority and lexical phonostatistics may constrain coda-driven word-search processes. (35 references) (Author/CK)

Examined open-ended production tasks in higher level testing in French-as-a-second-language courses in the United Kingdom. The article studied the effect of teachers' linguistic background, training, experience, and ability on their marking of students' oral language tests; the reliability of marking criteria; and the validity of assessing…