This research tested a structural equation model of educational outcomes for three socioeconomic status (SES) groups of African-American students enrolled in a community college (total sample of 315). The structural model, which was based on a variant of Tinto's (1987) model, contained two exogenous constructs, educational intentions and…

A random sample of 113 members of the American Vocational Education Research Association (AVERA) was surveyed to obtain baseline information regarding AVERA members' perceptions of statistical significance tests. The Psychometrics Group Instrument was used to collect data from participants. Of those surveyed, 67% were male, 93% had earned a…

This exploratory study examines the efficacy of Focus on Form (i.e., brief instruction on linguistic forms while learners engage in meaning) at the pragmatic level. Specifically, comparing Focus on FormS (interactions followed by explicit debriefing on pragmatic forms) and Focus on Form (interactions followed by debriefing on meaning), the…

Rising demand for schooling on the part of many Pakistani parents has immediate implications for the cost of children. To fulfill their educational aspirations, parents must invest more than they have in the past in each child both directly, in terms of various costs associated with school attendance and indirectly, in terms of missed…

This paper reports on a cost analysis of Kings Park (New York) Central School District's expenditures for special education services and relates that analysis to a comparison of proposed models of service delivery. The first section of the paper reviews the current status of New York State's initiative to document educational outcomes for special…

This 34th annual report of national normative data on college freshmen is part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program's (CIRP) longitudinal study to assess the effects of college on students. Data for this study is based on 261,217 entering students at 462 U.S. two- and four-year colleges and universities, and is statistically adjusted…

This report describes the methods and procedures used for the full-scale data collection effort of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study First Follow-Up 1996-98 (BPS:96/98). These students, who started their postsecondary education during the 1995-96 academic year, were first interviewed during 1996 as part of the National…

This report presents an analysis of the statistics concerning the status of education for students with special needs in member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Special needs students are defined as those who have disabilities with clear biological causes, or who are experiencing learning difficulties, or who…

Information on test-takers collected at the time of examinations provides a rich description of AP students, but what are the characteristics of their teachers? The current study provides a glimpse into these characteristics by summarizing the results of the largest survey of AP teachers to date (32,109 responses). The AP Teacher Survey contained…

Score equity assessment was used to evaluate linkings of new SAT® to the current SAT Reasoning Test™. Population invariance across gender groups was studied on the linkage of a new SAT critical reading prototype to a current SAT verbal section, and on the linkage of a new SAT math prototype to a current SAT math section. The results indicated that…

Telephone interviews with 31 Mexican-American grandparents collected information about interaction behaviors of 53 grandparent-grandchild dyads in which grandchildren were aged between 3 and 12 and saw the grandparents often, but did not live in the same household. Results indicate a high degree of involvement by most grandparents. (Author)

The underrepresentation of women and minority faculty at senior ranks is documented, and the contribution of promotion and tenure reviews to this situation is discussed. Potential conflicts between personal and professional values of women and minorities and the meritocratic values of academic culture are emphasized. (Author/MLW)

Discusses an adaptive diagnostic test used as part of an instructional program in signed-number arithmetic on the PLATO system. Findings indicated that differences in prior and subsequent instructional methods affected the learning of more advanced materials and produced lower achievement scores on posttests. Thirty-two references are listed. (MER)

The 55 medical students from the University of Alabama who used a commercial test-coaching company's services to prepare for the National Board of Medical Examiners Part I examination scored significantly higher than students with comparable basic science grade-point averages. The impact of such coaching on licensure is discussed. (Author/JMD)

A practice- and science-based program of graduate education and scholarship for pharmaceutical science is proposed. Recommendations include the elimination of weak graduate programs, increased industrial support, and development of the clinical scientist. (SF)