The proliferation of coaching schools for tests like the SAT and the LSAT is one sign that schools and colleges are changing their foci so that students will be prepared for standard tests, while other skills are being relatively ignored. (Author)

Reviews the history of student selection in vocational education programs and briefly describes the new Office of Civil Rights Guidelines which specifically address the student identification and selection aspects of the vocational counselor's duties. (LRA)

Describes nine categories of criteria used in developing nations to determine high school admission, the most common being competitive examinations and regional or school-level quotas. Discusses attempts to balance academic qualifications and equity concerns in Papua New Guinea and other countries, and dilemmas related to examination biases,…

Reviews the use of IQ scores in determining special education placement. It argues that although IQ is central to state education codes and their eligibility criteria for special education, the evidence shows that many children exhibiting psychometric scores that would make them eligible are never referred. (Author/CR)

This paper examines the use of racial and ethnic preferences in college admissions, focusing on the extent of their use and their impact on the careers of the intended beneficiaries in light of the California Civil Rights Initiative, which is designed to end such preferences. A study by Kane (1995) found that at the most selective four-year…

Legislative and/or state department of education mandates requiring some form of competency assessment of teachers are currently in force in 38 states. An additional seven states report planning activity, and only five states report no plans to test the competency of teachers. Descriptions are given of competency assessment activities in each…

This essay reports the results of the latest Transfer Assembly Project examining the transfer behavior of students entering community colleges in 1995 and moving on to public in-state senior institutions by 1999. The essay also addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the Centers transfer rate definition and the reasons underlying differences in…

This annotated bibliography, selected from the ERIC databases, concerns characteristics of preservice teachers. Studies summarized compare academic achievement of education majors with that of students in other fields and investigate personality traits, attitudes, and other attributes of future teachers. Other studies focus on admissions critera…

Because of concern over possible retrenchment by law schools to increase minority representation since the Bakke decision, a survey of affirmative action programs in law school admissions was undertaken. The results indicate that the majority, at least outside the South, read the Bakke opinions as permitting such programs. (JMD)

Believing in students is what's behind the best alternative schools. Profiles of various alternative education programs reveal stringent requirements for students' self-discipline and responsibility for learning. Some districts are turning to alternative programs and schools in an effort to keep their regular schools safe. (MLF)

The author comments on articles that discuss the roles of demographic variables, qualitative variables, and the interview in making sound selection for medical school admission; analyze the effectiveness of traditional predictors in selecting successful students; and examine the predictors that best identify minority students likely to succeed in…

Discussion of problems of and prospects for the professional education of librarians focuses on library schools in research universities. Topics discussed include size of schools; curriculum and course content; communication between librarians and members of research faculties; education versus training; and credentials for admission and…

An analysis of data showed that British students in local education authorities which have retained selection to a greater or lesser extent did not achieve better examination results than students in those authorities which have gone fully comprehensive. (RM)

A developmental studies program which is integrated into the total curriculum of the institution and which assists in integrating its students into the mainstream of its student population is an appropriate long long-term response to pressures engendered by the equal access/academic standards dilemma. (Author)

The article's message is for students to get help in finding out who they are and a start on the road to becoming it (the task of college). Picking the toughest college one can get into, one that has a history of contributing to moral and intellectual development, is essential. (Author)