In this report, the 25 secondary and 13 elementary schools participating in "A Study of Schooling" are described in two ways. First, the emphasis given to academics and vocational subjects in the curriculum is estimated and compared with that of the other schools at the same level. Second, tracking policies and practices at each of the schools are…

A study tested two hypotheses aimed at explaining the "self-fulfilling prophesy" that results when students are divided into ability group systems. The differential instruction hypothesis explains achievement differentials produced by grouping systems in terms of the differential instruction received by students. The peer differentials…

Continuous progress education (CP) provides for the individualization of all significant aspects of learning, including materials, content, objectives, methods, pacing, and student-teacher relationships. It is based on the proposition that no general prescriptions are equally appropriate for all students. A brief description of Hood River Valley…

The curriculum design of an experimental project school established in rural area in Missouri in 1917 formed the basis for developing a modern curriculum of individually guided education in the same area 60 years later. The original "project method" school operated with a curriculum selected directly from the real life experiences or purposes of…

The purpose of this study was to determine how teachers use group I.Q. test scores for planning instruction. Teachers were surveyed on: 1) use of I.Q. tests, 2) reasons for nonuse of I.Q. tests, and 3) instructional strategies based on test results. The widest use of test scores was in parent teacher conferences. The major reasons for not…

Past research on the effects of ability grouping on students' self-esteem have produced mixed results. This may be due to the fact that at least three distinct processes are involved: across-group comparisons, within-group comparisons, and the perceived evaluations of teachers. The extent to which the group structure is visible is likely to…

IN TWO SEPARATE ARTICLES, TWO VIEWS OF ABILITY GROUPING ARE DISCUSSED. THE FIRST MAINTAINS THAT FOR ECONOMIC REASONS TAX-SUPPORTED EDUCATION MUST GROUP STUDENTS FOR INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES, WHICH MAY BE DONE ACCORDING TO ABILITY OR TO AGE. ABILITY GROUPING IS DEFENSIBLE AS AN EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE WHEN IT IS BASED ON MEASURABLE ACHIEVEMENT. ALL…

Little is known about the teaching effectiveness of instructional media, particularly film and television. Accumulated research evidence applies to a generalized "average student," and thus to no one. There has been little concern for individual differences in interaction with instructional-media variables. The problem lies with the design of…

A conventional vocabulary test and two forms of a stradaptive vocabulary test were administered by a time-shared computer system to undergraduate college students. The two stradaptive tests differed in that one counted question mark responses (i.e., omitted items) as incorrect and the other ignored items responded to with question marks.…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of 22 principles of small-group instruction of young children. The principles dealt only with teacher behavior in managing instruction in the small-group setting and were organized in two major sections. Items described as organization and management concerned getting the children's…

This collection of annotated bibliographies covers studies in teaching loads of English teachers, written communication, language skills and usage in written composition, language arts, listening, bases of research in media study, reading, individualized and ability-grouping approaches to reading, achievement in individualized reading, and…

An experiment was conducted to investigate three topics of current interest in education: critical thinking, programed instruction, and aptitude-treatment interaction. Thirty college students and 31 ninth graders with extreme discrepancies between their verbal and quantitative aptitude scores were taught eight principles of class reasoning by…

Discusses the interactions of several students involved in a Dutch research project studying student achievement in elementary school mathematics. Results showed progress by most children, particularly those with low scores on the pretests. (TW)

For primary and secondary schools, the evidence concerning the effects of streaming (grouping by overall ability) and mixed-ability grouping is inconclusive. Many have concluded that there is no difference between the two systems in their effect on academic progress, social adjustment, attitudes toward school, or friendship patterns. (RM)

Primary grade students of varying mathematics and reading abilities were assessed with appropriate standardized measures. Peer-directed activities were recorded. Results indicated ability groups differed in achievement and use of requests and responses. The implications for children's acquisition of skills in peer-directed instructional groups are…