A new elementary retention policy was implemented in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in 1981-82. The AISD Board of Trustees requested a three-year study of the impact and effectiveness of the policy. This report describes results from the second year of the study, including the effect of the change in policy on staff development,…

A study analyzed the explicit and implicit behavior of employers in their assessment of young job applicants for entry-level clerical, retail trade, and machine trade jobs. In order to determine the influence of applicants' education and skills on employability assessments made by employers, the researchers analyzed almost 600 mail questionnaires…

This articulation guide contains 21 units of instruction for two years of machine shop. The objectives of the program are to provide the student with the basic terminology and fundamental knowledge and skills in machining (year 1) and to teach him/her to set up and operate machine tools and make or repair metal parts, tools, and machines (year 2).…

A discussion of how well freshmen students are performing at Arizona's three universities, the relationship of high school class standing to performance, and the resulting need to change admission standards is presented as one of the working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and…

Despite enormous political, social, and psychological forces working against them, some inner city black youths defy the odds and succeed academically. This study focuses on a group of successful at-risk minority students in an urban secondary school, and in particular on their student experience, including interactions with school culture,…

This guide is intended for vocational educators developing the vocational English as a second language (VESL) component of a course in data entry. The introductory section examines assumptions about second language learning and instruction and VESL classes, local adaptations of the curriculum, and sample VESL lessons. The chapter on language…

This set of 3 modules on communications is 1 of 11 sets in the Health Occupations Education I instructional package for the first year of a 2-year course of study. The materials are designed to prepare students through individualized instruction for entry-level job opportunities on health care teams in a variety of practice settings. Each module…

Reflective thinking is important to young adolescents as they develop their thinking skills. Various instructional methods have been recommended to support reflective thinking, yet the nature of the underlying factors in these methods is unclear. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factors prompting reflective thinking. Results…

This paper reports on the learning outcomes described by experienced teachers attending a program designed to enable them to come together to engage in professional development through structured and systematic reflective practice. In the first part of the paper, we look briefly at some of the challenges of defining "reflective…

Data from Project Talent and the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 provided comparable data on changes between 1960 to 1972 in reading ability and other characteristics of high school seniors, college entrants, and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) takers. Each group showed a decline in reading ability, but the drop for SAT…

It is often proposed that high schools are partly to blame for the decline in achievement test scores. Critics of current practices in education cite the decline in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score averages that has occurred each year since 1963 as evidence. The College Entrance Examination Board Advisory Panel on SAT Score Decline has…

Polls dealing with American public education conducted since 1936 are examined, and over 60 items were chosen to illustrate: (1) changes in public opinion since 1960 that might have altered students' evaluations of college attendance or academic excellence, and (2) changes prior to 1960 that might have affected the quality of preparation for…

The College Entrance Examination Board Advisory Panel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Score Decline considered various changes in American society as a possible cause of the downward trend in SAT scores that has occurred each year since 1963. For a span of 42 years (1933-75), a fold-out chart displays major events and influences on events,…

The Experience-Based Career Education (EBCE) program was designed to provide on-site vocational experiences for high-school youth in order to promote: (1) career development skills and knowledge; (2) self-knowledge--interests, abilities, and values; (3) reading skills; (4) problem solving skills; (5) oral communication; (6) writing skills; (7)…

The first part of this report is a question-and-answer survey of minimum competency legislation, testing programs, and remedial programs. It includes the questions of both the educator and the lay person. Topics include: minimum competency tests, the debate over minimum competency programs, what happens after testing, and what citizens should look…