Reports on a study of two introductory sociology courses to determine whether informal writing assignments can aid learning. Finds that requiring students to keep journals did not significantly improve performance on essay tests. Asserts that teachers may be justified in requiring attendance as a strategy for increased learning. (CFR)

This study reviews higher education assumptions of traditional net-price theory and an emerging approach considering a set of price and subsidies in enrollment and persistence decisions. Results suggest that within-year persistence decisions made by students from all income groups are more sensitive to tuition charges than to student aid.…

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a community-based court intervention aimed at reducing truancy in a large urban school district. A quasi-experimental design was used to assess attendance outcomes for 567 truants matched on demographics and drawn from three categories of intervention (no court referral, traditional court referral, and…

Background: Functional impairment is a key feature of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) of childhood. Aim: To compare impairment, illness attitudes and coping mechanisms in childhood CFS and in other paediatric disorders. Method: Participants were 28 children and adolescents with CFS, 30 with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and 27 with emotional…

The percentage of the population involved in the Christian church in New Zealand has been declining since the middle of the 1960s. Most seriously affected has been the mainline Protestant denominations such as Presbyterian, Anglican and Methodist. This article analyses and presents data collected by the National Church Life Survey New Zealand 2001…

This study focused on selected cognitive measures, work habits, and performance patterns of students with low critical thinking skills who achieved high grades in a large entry-level course. The high-performing low critical thinkers were compared on all target variables with both low critical thinkers who achieved low grades in the course and high…

This paper examines specific elements of a much wider study that attempted to ascertain the reasons for under-achievement in a large comprehensive school in the Welsh valleys. Specific Academic performance at General Certificate of Secondary Education (G.C.S.E.) level was poor in Randall, the main case school, in relation to other schools with…

I estimate the impact of attending a magnet school on student achievement in mathematics in a moderately large Southern district. Admission to magnet schools is through lotteries. Actual attendance by lottery winners is of course voluntary. I use lottery outcomes as instruments to control for bias due to self-selection of enrollees. Because…

This is the 12th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). This year, the analysis again focuses on the long-term historical trends in RUSD. The analysis compares RUSD data to data of nine peer school districts as well as statewide data. The peer districts are defined as those Wisconsin districts with…

The tables presented in this document show the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) results for the past two years. Twenty-four tables show results as percent at each performance level and percent passing, as well as percent of students tested. The tables shown in this document include: (1) Mathematics Grade 3; (2) Reading Grade 3; (3)…

Project Achieve Transition Services (PATS) is a four-year high school attendance improvement, dropout prevention project which targets late-entry students consisting primarily of immigrants, transfers, and long-term absentees. The program uses a case management approach to provide support services, instructional enhancements, and family outreach…

Intended as a resource to help decrease student withdrawal and increase student success at California's Santa Monica College, this report presents results from a study of student withdrawal and success rates for 8 sessions, from winter 1994 through fall 1994. Following an overview of the project and general observations based on findings, tables…

A study investigated the effectiveness of general study skill enhancement on the learning of a second language. Subjects were high school students deficient in study skills. They were enrolled in an after-school cooperative study skill tutorial program. After diagnostic screening, students completed the intensive tutorial program using selected…

Non attendance of lectures and tutorials appears to be a growing trend. The literature suggests many possible reasons including students' changing lifestyle, attitudes, teaching and technology. This paper looks at the reasons for non attendance of students in the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Wollongong and identifies relationships…

In 1986, a study was conducted at Rancho Santiago College (RSC) to determine the reasons that students whose educational goal was to transfer to a four-year college did not complete their objective. In fall 1983, 6,030 of the students enrolled at RSC indicated on their application for admission that they planned to transfer to a four-year college.…