Pursuant to a bill passed by the Iowa legislature requiring training for mandatory reporters of child abuse, this manual addresses the fundamental issues of identifying and reporting child abuse. Chapter 1 is an overview of the history of child abuse and how the current system of reporting has evolved. Chapter 2 is a basic primer on the physical…

This study examines promotion and retention standards at the elementary school level in Detroit Public Schools. Forty-eight teachers from five schools participated. Data collected for each of 420 randomly selected students included: (1) mastery and nonmastery ratings on each of the essential skills in language arts, affective education, and…

A study focused on promotion/retention policies, retention rates, and the problems/objectives associated with their implementation. Thirty-three of the 43 members of the Council of the Great City Schools responded to a survey that measured three demographic characteristics: the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch; the…

This document summarizes information on the second year of operation of 93 projects participating in the State of Illinois prekindergarten educational grant program for children at-risk due to environmental deficits. Contents provide: (1) background information on the legislation establishing the program, program evaluation schedules, and a…

Education is an investment in human potential which effects economic prosperity. The high rate of failure for students in public elementary schools from eight large school districts in Louisiana is alarming. Averaged over the school years 1983-1984 to 1985-1986, the percentage of failures in grades 1 through 8 ranges from 6.65% to 17.6%. The state…

The attributions of success and failure in a course in nursing research design and statistics were measured using a modified version of the Mathematics Attribution Scale. Eight subscales were formed by combining hypothetical success or failure events paired with each attribution category. The scales were success-task, success-environment,…

This handbook, issued in conjunction with the Governor's "Agenda for Excellence in Pennsylvania Public Schools," provides recommendations for revising promotion policies and practices in Pennsylvania schools. After a brief introduction, the results of a survey of promotion and retention practices are presented in summary form, followed…

An interim status report is presented on a study of predictors to aid in reducing the 35-40% dropout/failure rate in general chemistry at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College, Perkinston Campus. Data from 1974-75 and 1975-76 were used to develop a formula whereby potentially weak students could be identified before they failed or dropped out…

This paper focuses on the evaluation of programs and policies designed to promote gender equity in schools and to raise awareness in general about gender issues in urban education. It raises the following problems: (1) How to frame and define gender as an important issue in urban education; (2) How to decide where and by what criteria to…

The evaluation expectations for supervisors observing teacher effectiveness in the classroom are discussed. The classroom observer can identify and describe teaching effectiveness. A trained supervisor should have many frameworks for observing teachers based on the needs of the teacher, type of lesson, and maturity of the students. The use of…

National Assessment of Educational Progress data in reading, mathematics, and science for Caucasian children were analyzed. Using regression analysis for three age groups, nine, thirteen, and seventeen year olds, a trend analysis was plotted. The changing achievement relationships between these students relative to their classmates and their age…

A study investigated the educational value of retaining low achieving elementary school students in the same grade for an additional year. Subjects were 56 students who had completed at least one grade level beyond the grade in which they had been retained. The students had each been tested with the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills during the…

Many factors that contribute to a negative school climate also cause discipline problems. Our schools are "rigged," like gambling casinos, in that they must produce a certain percentage of losers. The present school system, in performing its screening role for society, demands that some fail. Students today are aware of this rigging and the…

Focus is on the institutionalization-termination phase of change in an attempt to explain why innovation fails or why it declines prior to achieving its intended purposes. Four questions are asked: (1) Why do innovations decline or fail after being adopted? (2) In what manner do innovations decline or fail? (3) Why do innovations persist or…

Teachers at Western Illinois University help improve the self-image of students in college remedial English courses in the following ways: (1) they try to alleviate students' feelings of failure through such methods as stressing the acceptability of spoken dialects but pointing out the practical need for writing in Standard English, and…