This special issue of the Mensa Research Journal contains four papers written by K. Warner Schaie, a psychologist who focuses on psychological development from young adulthood through old age. The first paper is "Living with Gerontology." In it, Schaie recounts his own childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, his path to becoming a…

The National Survey of Family Growth is a periodic survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, and designed to produce national estimates of statistics on fertility, family planning, and aspects of maternal and child health that are closely related to childbearing. This report presents statistics based on data collected in the…

Developmental patterns in the solution of verbal analogies, especially the recognition of higher-order analogical relations, were traced. The investigation sought to: (1) provide new developmental tests of a componential theory of analogical reasoning; (2) identify strategy changes during the transition from midchildhood (grade 3) to adulthood…

Older students (those beyond the age of 24) represented nearly 40 percent of all college and university enrollment in 1988, compared with 33 percent in 1974. Two sets of projections are suggested to show that, by 1995, the share of older students may increase somewhat, but students in the "traditional" age range (less than 25 years old) will still…

The assessment of individual or community nutritional status involves the use of indicators; when properly analyzed and interpreted, these may be used to decide what strategies to implement, or how to orient activities aimed at improving nutritional status. In primary health care programs, one approach which remains underused involves obtaining…

Initial general discussion of reading and writing is followed by discussions focusing on the process of learning to read, methods and texts, and ways to promote reading. The topic of the way one learns to read is addressed in terms of: (1) a definition of "knowing how to read"; (2) the distinction between teaching and learning; and (3) basic…

Three articles offer parents suggestions on how to make television a positive experience for their children. An editorial introduces the following themes basic to all the articles: type and amount of television viewing should be regulated by parents, parents should discuss television with their children, and parents must become aware of the…

The role of testing in American education is becoming increasingly important in grouping students for educational purposes. This article reviews practices adopted by educators or administrators to improve student test scores. Stopgap measures for improving standardized test scores include (1) switching to easier tests; (2) eliminating certain…

Presented is a report of findings of a 1990 National Health Interview Survey on Assistive Devices which indicated that about 5.3 percent of the American population are using assistive technology to accommodate physical impairments. Background information defines "assistive technology," describe uses, and reviews recent federal legislative and…

This report presents data from the 1988 National Health Interview Survey of Child Health, which was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. The data concern the proportions of young people (n=17,110) 17 years of age and under who were reported by their parents to have had: (1) a delay in development; (2) a learning disability; or…

This document contains four issues of "NAEPfacts," a report series about the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Issue 1 discusses data from the NAEP 1996 Long-Term Reading Assessment, which shows that overall student reading performance has increased for both 9- and 13-year-olds. Issue 2 reports that data from the NAEP…

Educational policy trends have contributed to rising rates of student grade retention over the past two decades. This research bulletin looks at the evidence about whether and how grade retention may influence the chances that a student would drop out of school. In 1992, evidence indicates that about 20% of 14-year-olds may have experienced a…

Noting that peace concerns justice and respect for everyone's basic rights, this booklet examines how children, teachers, and parents understand peace, and how they can learn together to respect each other and create peaceful environments for young children. Following introductory remarks, it describes the visions of children, parents, and…

This report provides a statistical profile of today's college students disaggregated by sector, namely students at public two-year colleges, public four-year colleges, independent four-year colleges, and graduate students at public and private universities. It found that about 41 percent of community college students and 10 percent of four-year…

Articles in this special issue include the following: "Learning to Write in a Second Language: Two Decades of Research" (Alister Cumming); "Some Steps Towards a Socio-Cognitive Interpretation of Second Language Composition Processes" (Julio Delarios Roca, Liz Murphy Liz); "Trends in the Conceptualizations of Second Language Composing Strategies: A…