Two supplementary calculus classes for high school students are described. Both classes were projects sponsored by the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) of Johns Hopkins University. (MP)

When teachers identified the reactive behavior patterns of 100 gifted adolescents, they classed 74% as aggressive dependent, influenced by compulsive and hysteric traits; 89.8% of the girls were thus labeled. Results raise the question of whether gifted programs seem to target only students who meet certain behavior standards. (SK)

Encourages music teachers to work with students interested in advanced placement (AP) music courses. Discusses the logistics and advantages of placing students in these courses. Describes the Advanced Placement Listening and Literature and the Advanced Placement Theory courses and examinations. Outlines the examination scoring method and looks at…

It is inappropriate to judge high school teachers' failure rates without making appropriate modifications to reflect student-caused failures. Devising an adjusted failure rate addresses this problem. If properly placed students with 10 or more days absent and 10% or more missing homework assignments are removed from failure numbers, the…

Given only correlation coefficient, one cannot infer causality. This lesson has been lost on Secretary of Education Richard Riley, who recently intoned that "taking rigorous mathematics courses ... early in secondary schools is a gateway to college and future employment." Students taking such classes have probably already been identified…

Discussion of Advanced Placement (AP) programs as a talent development option for gifted high school students focuses on their rationale as an example of differentiated curriculum, benefits of advanced placement for these students, important issues in talent development such as quality instruction and models/mentors, special problems of AP…

Argues that the creation of a College Board Advanced Placement examination in geography is an indicator of the resurgence of interest in geographic education. Traces the history of the Advanced Placement Program and the place negotiated for geography within it. Discusses continuing challenges that exist for geography educators. (DSK)

Describes how 35 teachers worked to create the Learning Collaborative, a technologically based resource for advanced placement teachers around the world, including a website to offer variety of resources. (SR)

Score equity assessment (SEA) is introduced, and placed within a fair assessment context that includes differential prediction or fair selection and differential item functioning. The notion of subpopulation invariance of linking functions is central to the assessment of score equity, just as it has been for differential item functioning and…

This paper focuses on the attempt by the Singapore government to introduce a new education paradigm to prepare students for success in a knowledge economy. The paper highlights the policy statements and changes for a new paradigm known as an Ability Driven Education (ADE) in Singapore. The ADE, launched as part of the Thinking Schools, Learning…

This report looks at the ways that credit-based transition programs (CBTPs) may help middle-and low-achieving students enter and succeed in college. It highlights promising practices used by CBTPs to help students who might have been considered noncollege-bound prepare for college credit course work. The report also discusses the challenges that…

One of the goals in the Commission's Performance Assessment Framework for higher education is that all high school students in California receive an education that gives them the opportunity to enter a college or university. There are many possible measures that could be used to gauge preparation for higher education. These include SAT scores,…

Higher levels of girls and women's participation in targeted areas are widely apparent, particularly in affluent and middle-class sites. Here, we report on research with young middle and upper middle-class high school girls successfully enrolled in non-traditional advanced placement (AP) courses in mathematics, science, and computer programming in…

As a part of a larger qualitative study, this research investigation explored the perceptions and attitudes that first-generation, urban college students have of their preparation for postsecondary education. The purposeful sample in this study was comprised of 13 first-generation college students (i.e., 6 males and 7 females) who were graduates…

The Key State Education Policies on PK-12 Education is intended to inform policymakers and educators about the current status of key education policies that define and shape elementary and secondary education in public schools across the 50 states. The report is part of a continuing series by the Council's State Education Indicators program.…