Uses the concept of cross-pressures to predict frequency of adolescent alcohol, cigarette, and drug use. Eighth-, 10th-, and 12-grade respondents reported frequency of alcohol, cigarette, and drug use for 30 days prior to the survey. They also reported perceptions of friends' approval/disapproval of substance use, peer pressure to use, and their…

Assesses the potential of multimedia authoring as a learning tool using the software ASTOUND. Investigates the knowledge acquisition caused by a multimedia program among 32 grade 12 students on a multi-disciplinary environmental unit about earthquakes. Provides basic background about earthquakes via laboratory experiments and field trips to…

Analyzes a small group of 12th-grade students who interpreted the character of Gertrude in "Hamlet" through a "body biography," a life-sized human outline filled with student-generated words and images. Concludes with a reconsideration of the notion of engagement that includes attention to both the immediate social relations…

Reanalyzes classroom discussion data using a social-enactment theoretical orientation and a substantive framework based on gendered classroom interactions, multiple subjectivities, and power relationships. Analyzes actions and interactions of two highly visible 12th graders in during an academic year in an Advanced Placement English class. Finds…

In this article we describe gender gaps in mathematics achievement and attitude as measured by the U.S. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) from 1990 to 2003. Analyzing relationships among achievement and mathematical content, student proficiency and percentile levels, race, and socioeconomic status (SES), we found that gender gaps…

This study describes the multiple analogical models used to introduce and teach Grade 12 chemical equilibrium. We examine the teacher's reasons for using models, explain each model's development during the lessons, and analyze the understandings students derived from the models. A case study approach was used and the data were drawn from the…

Ability estimates yielded by the one- (1PL), two- (2PL), and three-parameter (3PL) models and the nominal response model (NRM) were compared with the number-right (NR) scoring model using items not susceptible to test-wiseness (NTW) and items susceptible to the ID1 test-wiseness strategy. These items were contained in grade 12 diploma examinations…

This study presented and tested a model of sexual satisfaction for late adolescent girls. In this model, sexual self-concept and approach sexual motives were tested as predictors of adolescent girls' sexual satisfaction with their most recent experience of sexual intercourse. A total of 116 girls in 12th grade (ages 16-19) completed measures of…

The research and analysis completed for this study focuses on one variable and its relationship to student achievement: school wide student attendance. It is a variable that is often overlooked or taken for granted as an interesting but meaningless statistic, however, the positive impact of good school attendance on academic achievement may be…

This article summarizes the principal findings of a 10-year longitudinal study of the career development experienced by a sample of students. Beginning with 208 second graders, data were collected 6 times, concluding when the students were in the 12th grade. Principal variables measured included occupational aspirations and expectations, gender…

The pattern of RIASEC interests and academic skills were assessed longitudinally from a large-scale national database at three time points: eight grade, 10th grade, and 12th grade. Validation and cross-validation samples of 1000 males and 1000 females in each set were used to test the pattern of these scores over time relative to mean changes,…

This study investigated tenth- and twelfth-grade adolescents' ( N = 264) beliefs about homosexuality, their attitudes about gay and lesbian peers in school, and their evaluations of the treatment of gay, lesbian, and gender non-conforming peers. The results revealed differences in adolescents' beliefs about homosexuality and their attitudes toward…

This general achievement trends profile includes information that the Center on Education Policy (CEP) and the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) obtained from states from fall 2008 through April 2009. Included herein are: (1) Bullet points summarizing key findings about achievement trends in that state at three performance…

To gauge the civic knowledge and skills of the nation's 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-grade students, an assessment has been scheduled for 2006 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This assessment will enable NAEP to report on trends in civics achievement from 1998 to 2006. The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), NAEP's…

It is recognized widely that learning is a dynamic and idiosyncratic process of construction and reconstruction of concepts in response to new experiences. It is influenced by the learner's prior knowledge, motivation, and sociocultural context. This study investigated how year 11 and 12 physics students' metacognition influences the development…