Current literature on status attainment and student college choice is reviewed, and a structural model of predisposition to attend college is presented. Data from 2,497 ninth graders attending 21 high schools in Indiana and their parents, analyzed using LISREL, support the model's usefulness in determining students' college choice. (SLD)

Examined effectiveness of 14-week program to build self-esteem with at-risk ninth-grade students by comparing participants (n=35) to no-treatment controls (n=33). Concluded that program, based on concepts of rational emotive therapy, was effective in improving self-concept, self-management, and academic achievement. (Author/NB)

Among 66 rural Louisiana ninth graders, 52 percent of variability in grade point average was explained by gender, school self-esteem, self-esteem scale lie score, father's educational attainment, whether student lived with parents, number of younger siblings, and participation in extracurricular activities. (SV)

Examines how modeling, grade in school, gender, and attitudes toward women relate to sexist or nonsexist language usage in high school students. Analyses of questionnaire responses from 144 high school students reveal main effects for gender, year in school, and condition on nonsexist language use. Females used less sexist language than males, and…

As a result of the Morgan-Hart Class Size Reduction Act of 1989, San Juan (California) Unified School District was able to reduce the number of students in freshman English classes from over 30 to 20 in the spring semester 1991. This reduction of at least 10 students per class was a welcome change for high school students and their teachers. The…

This study was conducted to examine the list of identifying factors and predictors of childhood physical abuse, extrafamilial sexual abuse, and incest among male and female adolescents in the general population. In 1989, a survey was administered to 6,224 9th and 12th grade students in public schools in Minnesota. The findings revealed that more…

Changes in student perceptions over the first year of high school form the basis of this study. Self- and task-perceptions, as well as affect and utility judgments, are measured in relation to English and mathematics, since the transition to high school has been found to impact negatively on students' self-concept in these domains. The impact of…

This booklet presents tips for high school freshmen who plan to go to college after graduation. Reasons are given for students to begin college planning in the ninth grade and the issues of high school classes and money for college tuition are discussed. Basic skills needed in reading, writing, oral communications, mathematics, and reasoning are…

Assessed the assignment of students in an urban system to ninth-grade mathematics courses against a meritocratic definition of fairness to determine whether the process denied access to students from particular segments of society. Results with 1611 students show that entrance to the gatekeeper mathematics courses was unfairly denied for low…

Offers experiences related to library media center usage and orientation/instruction that resulted from a change to block scheduling at Lakeview High School (Battle Creek, Michigan). Highlights include increased library use and circulation, and library instruction and orientation that includes print and nonprint media as part of a freshman…

When a student tutoring program failed to improve freshmen's achievement, a St. Louis-area high school tried mentoring as a responsibility- and relationship-building model. Almost all freshmen now participate. Many still fail multiple courses, but school atmosphere has improved drastically and disciplinary referrals have declined 40 percent. (MLH)

Examined whether previous classroom grades were as useful as standardized test scores for identifying students likely to fail the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Test. Analyzes letter grades received by 99 freshmen attending a small, rural high school. Classroom teachers' own grades proved as useful as standardized scores. (14 references) (MLH)

Changes in student perceptions over the first year of high school and the interrelations of student and student-reported mother, father, and teacher perceptions form the basis of this study. Self- and task-perceptions as well as utility judgments are measured in two subject domains, mathematics and English, since the transition to high school has…

This paper identifies and assesses factors that may characterize students at risk of dropping out, based on a ninth grade class of Cincinnati (Ohio) public school students which was followed for five years, from 1984-85 to 1988-89. The paper aims to develop a quick, easy, and reliable method that teachers, counselors, and principals can use to…

Utilizing data compiled from records of 33 students who had completed Algebra I in 1974 and 1976, the study examined the California Algebra Aptitude Test (CAAT) and other possible predictors of success for freshmen students entering Algebra I in a small rural high school. The CAAT and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) were taken by these…