Pennsylvania's alternative education programs for youths with disciplinary problems have increased three-fold in the last five years. This publication includes descriptions of 36 such programs, chosen to be representative of the variety of programs operating in the state's schools. Each program description identifies the district, coordinator,…

Ten annotations of literature in the ERIC system that discuss the pros and cons of grade retention for low-achieving students are presented in this booklet. (Author/MLF)

The purpose of the inquiry described was to examine the ways in which characteristics of the educational environment of the home, the school, and the peer group accounted for change in performance at school over the period of a year, in which the sample of children selected for investigation progressed from primary school to high school. The…

In this paper, personality characteristics of the students and their performance at school are linked together. The performance cycle model of 12 months duration used here contains causal relationships between initial achievement, the mediating variables of academic motivation and attentiveness, and final achievement. A random sample of 215…

To reduce problems in comparing gains in the rate of students who progress to the next level of education, a nonlinear transformation is recommended. Two such transformations, probits and logits, are presented. Log linear models are recommended for an appropriate statistical test of sampling error. (Author/GDC)

This paper--part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002--discusses high-stakes testing. Specifically, it examines the high-stakes testing program in Chicago public schools, a grade-promotion policy that uses a standardized test as the primary basis for promotion. Although…

The proportion of school children and other students in the United States who are required to take examinations other than those set by the teacher for his own classes is exceedingly small. Except in New York State, where a considerable number of children in the elementary and secondary schools are accustomed to taking examinations set by the…

Effects of a measurement and planning system on the cognitive development, promotion, and referral to special education of 838 public school kindergartners were studied. The 428-member experimental group, whose 29 teachers implemented the system, had higher posttest scores in reading, mathematics, and science than did the 410-member control group.…

Faced with the evident impossibility of providing free or significantly subsidized secondary and higher education to all, many poor and middle income countries choose to educate only those students who are most promising, using public examinations as means of distributing scarce resources. This paper investigates the inequality implications of…

The education of students is fundamental to shaping a preferred provincial, national and global future. It is also essential in maintaining Alberta's standard of living and ensuring its global competitiveness. The education system must simultaneously prepare the citizens of tomorrow while equipping the students with the knowledge and skills they…

An evaluation of the developmental first grade, or pre-first grade, program of the Irving Independent School District (Texas) was conducted through four studies. Students are placed in the pre-first grade as a transition between kindergarten and first grade, typically on the basis of some assessment of maturity. The first study examined the…

This theme issue on acceleration of gifted students offers an Ontario (Canada) perspective on early entrance to school and grade-skipping. It begins with a history of acceleration programs and then outlines their current status, with less than 40 percent of school boards with gifted programs using some form of acceleration. It goes on to analyze…

The lead article of this pamphlet examines means of motivating public school (especially high school) students to accept greater academic challenge, without relying on budget increases. Measures being applied in school systems nationwide include special diplomas for students who meet exceptional standards in prescribed curricula; "weighted…

The Evaluation System of the District of Columbia Public Schools has several purposes. It is designed to enable the school system to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and to identify characteristics of programs that seem to increase effectiveness. Also, it is designed to enable the schools to follow particular students over a period of years,…

The program entitled Prevention of Learning Disabilities: An Interdisciplinary Model, developed and operated by the Learning Disorders Unit of New York University Medical Center, has three elements: scanning, diagnosis, and intervention. Educational intervention is done primarily by Board of Education teachers and educational assistants under the…