A recent study in Baltimore shows that the inclusion of a structured cognitive skills program in the language arts curriculum significantly improved student verbal performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). (MD)

Outlines pilot financial management scheme developed by the County Council in Cambridgeshire (England). The scheme has been accepted and has produced significant results. (MD)

Describes a pilot study in which a two-year junior college program designed to train chemical technicians was taught to a group of high school students. The concrete-operational program, entitled Modern Chemical Technology (MCT), was well received by the students. (MLH)

This pilot study used a lesson plan study to examine the thinking of preservice teachers about the concept of density, part of almost every school science curriculum, and the teaching of that concept to middle grade students. Subjects in the first study year included seven preservice teachers grouped into three clusters to accomplish the lesson…

Employers are feeling the strain of needing to offer alternative work arrangements to retain and recruit employees. Due to a change in demographics, dual-career couples and increased technology; people are demanding a transformation in the workplace environment. Two alternatives, which are being offered by employers, are flextime and…

This study reports on a pilot study of a public speaking class in which problem-based learning and service-learning were combined in a freshman engagement course. The paper describes how the two elements were combined and provides assessments that used the University of California-Berkeley Service-Learning Attitudinal Survey, narrative responses…

This paper discusses Web site usability issues. Specifically, it assumes that the usability of a Web site depends more on the perception of the user than on the objectively assessable usability criteria of the Web site. Two pilot studies, based on theoretical notions of uses and gratifications theory and similar theories, are presented. In the…

During the first half of 2000 a pilot project on library and information science (LIS) journal quality was undertaken in the Asian region for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Round Table on Library and Information Science Journals (RTLISJ). It showed that a simple, but effective, methodology could be…

At Pace University there is a growing concern about the need for reinforcing writing across the disciplines, and about the need for integrating technology into teaching. At Pace a program has been designed in which professors and students working together will be able to take advantage of all that the university has to offer in technology,…

In 1993, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) initiated a Comprehensive Strategy to provide a research-based framework of strategic response to juvenile delinquency. In 1996, three communities (Lee and Duval Counties, Florida and San Diego County, California) collaborated with the OJJDP to apply the Comprehensive…

Researchers designed and piloted a questionnaire that measures the level of implementation of exemplary middle school practices (based on the work of P. George and W. Alexander, 1993) using Rasch measurement theory. Assistant principals (n=26) participated in telephone interviews by responding to a 27-item questionnaire that contains items…

The Continuous School Improvement Questionnaire (CSIQ) is a comprehensive inventory measuring educators' perceptions of factors that affect success with school improvement. A pilot test of the CSIQ was conducted in Spring 2000, one purpose of which was to reduce the length of the CSIQ. The instrument was reduced from 147 to 72 items. The pilot…

As part of the test development process, this technical report is intended to present technical information from the tryout and the pilot stages of the Michigan High School Proficiency Test (HSPT) in Communication Arts: Reading. There are four major parts to this report. Part 1, Evolution of the HSPT in Communication Arts: Reading, introduces the…

As part of the test development process, this technical report is intended to present technical information from the tryout and pilot stages of the Michigan High School Proficiency Test (HSPT) in Communication Arts: Writing. There are four major parts to this report. Part 1, Evolution of the HSPT in Communication Arts: Writing, introduces the…

Transfer students often take extra courses on their way to a bachelor's degree because they have neglected to meet with college advisors or to plan their coursework early in their studies. The state's four-year colleges often require different courses for admission, or evaluate previous work differently when deciding whether it meets their…