Word-recognition behavior of 50 high school students two or more grade levels below their age mates in tests of reading comprehension was contrasted with that of 25 controls from the same schools, who were reading at grade level. The experiment included a section in which pictures (flashed, like the words, at 1/100 of a second) were to be…

Low and average school achievers in grades 1 and 2 and grades 4 and 5 made attributions for successes and failures on school related and unrelated tasks. Students in the low achievement group were participants of the Title I program, and tested a year below their age-mates on reading and math achievement. Students were given two booklets of four…

Do success-oriented and failure-avoidant students differ in their performance because of differential attributions? Path analysis, which permits the evaluation of causal assumptions in well-specified theories, was employed to test the adequacy of the causal linkages in the attributional model of achievement behavior. Thus, although differences in…

This publication reviews court decisions and examines legal principles relevant to the dismissal of students for failure to meet academic standards. Much of the discussion involves the dismissal of students from medical schools and other professional schools, since that has been the source for much of the relevant court litigation. The discussion…

Correlations between popular admissions indicies, including Dental Admission Test scores and pre-dental grade point average, and numerous measures of student success, such as National Board scores and grades, were compared for recently-graduated students from two dental schools with substantially different selection ratios. While the differences…

The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court of a case involving the dismissal for academic reasons of a student from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Medical School is presented. The Court upheld that Charlotte Horowitz had been afforded all rights by the fourteenth amendment and that the decision of the Court of Appeals, which held that the…

This study explores the notion of "fear of success" as a function of cultural expectations rather than as an intrapsychic motive held by women. A total of 476 male and female students (including 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th graders) were tested on semantic differential scales to gauge their reactions to the success or failure of a woman or a man. It…

Data drawn from the Arizona statewide testing program were used to relate selected factors to third-grade reading achievement in a representative sample of 50 school districts. Analyses of scores on the Metropolitan Achievement Test indicated that reading scores were positively related to the average market value of single residences within the…

Achievement testing indicates that the typical student who leaves high school prior to graduation has academic deficiencies considerably below expected grade placement. The need exists for identifying potential dropouts prior to their actual withdrawal. After a dropout-prone student has been identified, an analysis of his specific needs should be…

The type of reading teacher needed to teach reading at all grade levels in urban schools is characterized, and the habits and attitudes necessary for success are identified. The teacher needs to be (1) cognizant of the attitudes, misunderstandings, and prejudices of his colleagues; (2) aware of the possible hostility of his students, but sensitive…

The validity of the argument that non-promotion and subsequent repetition of the work in a grade will lead to an improvement in performance was examined. The subjects were 642 students in grades 8-11. The data was derived from the year-end marks that each student received in the subject areas, upon which the decision to promote or retain was made.…

Reported is a longitudinal study of socially maladjusted boys in Kansas City, Missouri. Inner city seventh grade boys, identified as socially and educationally maladjusted, were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in a work-study program beginning in the eighth grade, receiving special classroom work…

In a speech before the American Educational Research Association, the author asserts that childhood education theory is going through one of its periodic over-reactions to new findings. The result is the present overemphasis on environmentally caused cognitive development. Yet a very basic biological law is the law of human variability. The…

Studies reveal that students from small high schools tend to do better at some Wisconsin State Universities, especially at WSU-Stevens Point. However, high school percentile rank, regardless of class size, is by far the best single predictor of academic success at WSU-Stevens Point. The present investigation was aimed at determining if students…

The extent to which smokers as compared to non-smokers recognize their failure to achieve was studied. The subjects were 80 ninth grade pupils, half of whom smoked. A nine point self-anchoring Expectation scale was developed to determine how closely the subjects came to meeting the perceived expectations of their parents, their school, their…