English-as-a-Second-Language students in Japan were tested at the beginning and the end of the school year to examine changes in word associations and grammatical suffix knowledge. Results showed an average vocabulary gain of 330 words, a poor knowledge of the allowable suffixes for the verbs learned, and 19 to 25 percentage points more receptive…

A qualitative study examined a rural Alaskan school district's standards-based reform in the sociohistorical context of Alaska Native education. Observations and interviews with 32 district staff members indicate that the district had recast the historical "civilization-savagism" paradigm as an "unhealthy Native" construct to…

Case study of a poor, rural Pennsylvania school district's experience with the Reading First initiative illustrates how the No Child Left Behind Act confines districts to a few federally prescribed, "scientifically proven" curricula that ignore local conditions. Sanctioned schools are negatively labeled but receive inadequate funding,…

The impact of standards-based school reform practices on African American learners, especially those in special and remedial classes, is examined. A rationale is presented for standards-based reform that is culturally responsive and not premised on high-stakes, along with recommendations for school reform that focus on accountability while…

Many British students with severe learning difficulties cannot realistically be expected to complete Level 1 requirements of the National Curriculum. These students remain marooned on Level 1 and become failures through continual comparison with higher achieving peers. They should be offered appropriate non-National Curriculum programs of study…

Reports that those who were taught proportions exhibit more of a tendency to transfer than those who were not. Investigates the relationship of previous learning and problem-solving abilities to the learning of proportionality in facilitating transfer. Shows the magnitude of effects of task assignment on transfer. (YP)

Proposes a structural model of intelligence based on the significant aspects of Blacks' cognitive development. Discusses alternative perspectives on the understanding of macro-level activities, modifications in the general approach to cognitive assessment, and the formulation of pedagogical guidelines. (FMW)

Presents a study that examined student knowledge of place-name geography in a Georgia school system that systematically included geography education at all grade levels. Findings indicated that these students identified correct locations more frequently than adults in any of the nine nations in the 1988 Gallup survey. Includes the test used in…

The annotated bibliography of articles from five years of the journal contains 182 citations, with abstracts in both English and French, in 10 categories: psychology of language learning, applied linguistics, methodology, equipment and media, curriculum, testing and evaluation, teacher education, materials development, culture, and general…

Reports on a study of 208 high school students on the relationship between interest in 4 subject areas and the quality of experience in class. Finds that interest was a significant predictor of the experience of potency, intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, and perception of skill. (CFR)

MediaMatrix, a new, computerized instruction, authoring system, enables instructional developers to build adaptive programmed instruction and adaptive testing systems. Instructional development can focus simultaneously on systematic improvement of comprehension and problem-solving skills while providing for adaptive content presentations that…

Maintains that recent developments of local, state, and national exit outcomes call for changes in assessing student performance. Discusses the use of cooperative learning modules in European history and global studies. Asserts that cooperative learning techniques call for much more student-student and teacher-student interaction. (CFR)

Describes a follow-up study that examined results of adopting the Teaching and Learning with Computers approach in a small rural school district. Use of the Jostens Learning Corporation integrated curriculum is explained, and evaluations of Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills results that show changes in scale scores and comparisons with national…

A University of Western Australia market segmentation study for the masters program in business administration examined the relationship between Graduate Management Admission Test scores, work experience, faculty of undergraduate degree, gender, and academic success in the program. Implications of the results for establishing admission criteria…

Examines M. L. Maehr's Personal Investment Model of motivation. Presents evidence for the usefulness of the theoretical framework and the validity of the Inventory of School Motivation, based on the theory, using data for 2,152 high school students from aboriginal (n=492), migrant (n=487), and Anglo (n=1,173) backgrounds in Australia. (SLD)