Reading comprehension--the ability to understand the meaning of text--is a foundational ability that enables children to learn in school and throughout life. Children who struggle with reading comprehension in the third or fourth grade are at high risk for dropping out of school, with detrimental effects on their future employment, income, and…

Information is presented in this publication about the outcomes for students who completed their vocational education and training (VET) under the Productivity Places Program (PPP) during 2008. The Productivity Places Program Survey covers students who were awarded a qualification in 2008 with funding from the PPP. The survey focuses on students'…

Prior Learning Assessment, or PLA, is an important and often overlooked strategy for helping adults progress towards a degree. PLA is the process by which many colleges evaluate for academic credit the college-level knowledge and skills an individual has gained outside of the classroom (or from non-college instructional programs), including…

This study examines the role of self-regulated learning (SRL) in facilitating students' shifts to more sophisticated mental models of the circulatory system as indicated by both performance and process data. We began with Winne and colleagues' information processing model of SRL (Winne, 2001; Winne & Hadwin, 1998) and used it to examine how…

Students are often asked to integrate information derived from reading multiple documents into a consistent story or model. Based on models of comprehending individual text, we predict that the structure and accessibility of earlier texts should influence one's ability to integrate a new text with previously learned material. In two experiments,…

Based on part of a line of research on children's prior knowledge and thinking (including misconceptions) about topics addressed in the traditional K-3 social studies curriculum, a study was designed to provide such information with respect to the topic of government. Individual interviews were conducted with K-3 students (n=96), stratified…

This study compared L2 listening comprehension with L2 reading comprehension in terms of the roles of linguistic knowledge, background knowledge, and question types among 168 university students learning English in Korea. The analyses of the data found that L2 listeners processed inferential information more easily than factual information, while…

Two studies investigated the relationships between readability, prior knowledge, and interest in the material being read. In the first study, 169 college freshmen read cloze passages of materials from the Nelson-Denny Reading Tests, then one week later read the whole passages and completed the related multiple choice questions. A control group…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the academic performance of transfers from Virginia community colleges to James Madison University (JMU). In fall 1996, 231 students transferred to JMU from in-state community colleges. The major feeder community colleges were Northern Virginia, Blue Ridge, Lord Fairfax, and Piedmont Virginia. The average…

In 2006, the Canadian Council on Learning produced the first national overview of post-secondary education in Canada. The report, "Canadian Post-secondary Education: A Positive Record--An Uncertain Future," identified eight goals and objectives derived from the strategic plans for post-secondary education (PSE) that had been developed by…

The Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments (TRE) study was designed to demonstrate and explore innovative use of computers for developing, administering, scoring, and analyzing the results of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments. Two scenarios (Search and Simulation) were created for measuring problem solving…

The results of the program of credit by examination at the University of Texas at Austin during the 1986-1987 testing year are presented. The data provide a basis for a comprehensive picture of the impact of the program on this campus. The examinations covered 51 subject areas with 171 courses taught in 36 departments/divisions in 8 colleges and…

This document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report "Student Traffic: Two-Way Movement between Vocational Education and Training and Higher Education," [ED495183] and is an added resource for further information. The original report investigated the extent and nature of student traffic between the two…

This study by the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), California, aims to determine the impact of prerequisite enforcement on retention and course completion rates in English and math courses among underrepresented students. The report analyzed a subset of the more than 300 prerequisite-enforced courses offered by the SDCCD. The course…

This study sought to investigate the educational outcomes of the College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP®) for students who earned credit through CLEP compared to those students who earned comparable credit through the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) and through traditional course enrollment. In order to evaluate the short- and long-term…