Researchers have found that students who attend Catholic high schools tend to outperform public high school students on standardized tests of achievement. Although many aspects of this finding have been examined in subsequent research, little attention has been paid to the issue of how ability grouping affects achievement across school sectors. A…

Begun successfully in 1963 as part of the larger Illinois Plan for the Education of Gifted Children, the demonstration center in "Anytown", a small northwestern Illinois community, was phased out after four years of operation. New curricula for grades 7-12 were developed at the University of Illinois for the Anytown and other similar…

AN EVALUATION OF AN HONORS ENGLISH TEAM TEACHING PROGRAM WAS REPORTED. THE PROGRAM, DESIGNATED AS A SPIRAL CURRICULUM, WAS ADMINISTERED TO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL HIGH ABILITY STUDENTS. RESULTS WERE EVALUATED IN TERMS OF (1) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN READING AND WRITING, (2) CHANGES IN STUDENT ATTITUDES AND PARTICIPATION IN GROUP DISCUSSIONS, (3) STUDENT…

This paper explores the reasons for the rapid adoption of intelligence tests by the public schools, and the historical relationship between testing and ability grouping or tracking. Case studies are presented of three California communities--Oakland, San Jose, and Palo Alto--between 1910 and 1925. These communities have been selected because they…

Over 400 journal articles, case studies, research reports, dissertations, and position papers are briefly described in a series of eight selected bibliographies related to school organization. The eight specific areas treated in the volume and the number of items listed for each include: nongraded elementary school organization, 96; nongraded…

The results of this research have relevance for sport educators who are integrating sport classes and who are concerned with the interpersonal interactions of boys and girls playing together. The author hypothesized that males and females would prefer to interact in a sport setting with members of their own sex and ability level. The results of an…

This paper, based on a book on the assessment of minority students, is a critical review of the research done heretofore on intelligence testing. It deals with such issues as: the social criticism of testing through numerous lawsuits, court rulings, and in the positions taken by the Association of Black Psychologists and the American Personnel and…

Problems in the interpretation of standardized tests used to group children of limited backgrounds, cultural bias in tests, and the misuse of tests are considered. Reports on the use of specific tests with disadvantaged students are reviewed and some of the efforts being made to provide better interpretive data are discussed. Alternative…

Data presented in this study of the Academic Interest Measures (AIM) include score distributions for a national sample of high school juniors grouped by sex, ability, and curriculum (effects of socioeconomic status were found to be negligible); relationships between AIM and many other variables, such as ability test scores, students' ratings of…

Some of the controversial issues involved in the use of objective tests by institutions of higher education, as this use affects the selection and attendance by members of minority groups, are reviewed. Admissions committees now rely on the ability of a test to predict students' performance at their institution to guide their selection. However,…

A questionnaire administered to 305 gifted students, ages 9-17, enrolled in a summer program, examined perceptions and attitudes related to the gifted label and available educational opportunities. Analysis of responses yielded four factors: (1) acceptance of the gifted label; (2) perception of ability as incremental; (3) preference for…

Describes an observational study conducted to determine critical areas of school effectiveness. Notes that quality middle-level education has the components of educational empowerment and involvement and teacher techniques that focus on developmentally appropriate strategies, block scheduling rather than one-period scheduling, and ability grouping…

This paper presents results from a 3-year longitudinal case study of 10 racially and socioeconomically mixed secondary schools participating in detracking reform. It explores how broadly held conceptions of intelligence intervene in efforts to detrack schools and examines new constructions of intelligence and how they fit into school detracking.…

A Scottish council commissioned a study to inform development of policy concerning ability grouping, timetabling, and other practices related to the transition from primary to secondary schooling. Although the researchers became aware that the council expected a report supportive of their policies, the data supported the view that the key to…

Argues that educators have not developed curriculum and instruction models tailored to lower-achieving students. Discusses characteristics of lower-achieving students and to teaching methods and instructional materials. Presents suggestions for making history and social studies more relevant for these students. (CFR)