Data from a 1994 longitudinal survey showed that parents' availability for school participation varied widely, depending on income and vacation benefits. At Princeton University, Alan Kruger and Diane Whitman concluded that smaller classes have greater effects on minority students' progress and college entrance-exam enrollment than on whites. (MLH)

Of 27 countries in a World Health Organization survey, American children report the most physical complaints, Portuguese children are most kind to one another, and Lithuanians watch more TV. U.S. and Czech teens are great dieters. Northern Irish, Scottish, and Finnish youngsters love computer games. (MLH)

Summarizes findings and data about income level and equality of educational opportunities, conditions of Alabama school facilities, and factors affecting a student's level of academic orientation in high school. (PKP)

Basic skills being taught are often unrelated to skills required by new technologies. Teaching obsolete skills in minimum competency programs is useless, even racist. The concept of basic skills changes with emergent technology. Sound instructional systems require meaningful philosophy, goals, and awareness of the findings of developmental…

Richard Rothstein's booklet "What Do We Know About Declining (Or Rising) Student Achievement?" claims that anecdotes about past educational practices are unreliable and difficult to relate to today's schools. Curricula and tests change; so do student populations. There are no solid historical measures, including three well-known…

Many education critics are now acknowledging that schools are performing better than ever. "Then and now" studies of test scores typically favor the now. Student motivation strongly influences performance on standardized tests. Bush's America 2000 program does little for poor and minority children falling behind grade level. Complex…

This book takes readers through the often confusing landscape of standardized testing and explains what tests are and what they are not. The book discusses how to interpret test scores, different types of standardized tests, and specific standardized tests. This revised edition also contains discussions of the Third International Mathematics and…

A University of Michigan study that surveyed students about sexual harassment behaviors discovered that 83% of girls and 60% of boys have experienced harassment. Also, 75% of the victims had also been perpetrators. Another study examined how cultural influences may affect high-achieving Japanese students' use of will power and memorization…

A recent RAND study questions the reliability of judgments used in portfolio evaluation in Vermont Schools. Researchers at the Center for Research in Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing are developing guidelines to determine whether the new performance-based assessments are valid and reliable. Emerging CRESST criteria concerning testing…

In the workplace, the test score/earnings relationship is insignificant. Job success does not involve taking tests, but pleasing employers, working well with colleagues, and being courteous, savvy, reliable, motivated, and perseverant. Test-score disparities severely affect minorities' college-admission and employment opportunities. (MLH)

Summarizes findings of various reports about the condition of American education in comparison to that of other countries. When data are analyzed with no prior position as to what they say, the nation's schools seem to perform at a higher level than that which has been presented. (SLD)

Disagrees with research showing that socioeconomic status has little impact on parental involvement in children's education. From the author's own experience, working-class parents are as concerned as affluent ones about children's progress, but have less energy/time for participation. In other research, a new assessment instrument may help…

Two researchers who re-examined a North Carolina district's exemplary SAT performance discovered that this district's gains paralleled those in the rest of the state. The dropout rate also remained high. Most investigations of music, art, and academic learning show positive correlations, but no causal effects. (MLH)

Two University of Missouri researchers say much econometric research on the money/achievement connection is deeply flawed. Data from the "School District Data Book" and Second International Mathematics Study show that money's impact is enormous. In other research, principals' high expectations are pivotal, and children's drawings are…

Describes results of a study conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to determine the computer competence of elementary and secondary students. Questions in the areas of knowledge of computer technology, computer applications, and computer programing are discussed, gender and ethnic differences are examined, and…