Access to a quality education is unevenly mapped by the demographic context of the communities in which public school students live. A growing body of research suggests that this geographic effect deeply challenges the goal of equalizing educational opportunities. This paper explores the relationship between students' neighborhood characteristics…

Correlates of reading and writing achievement were examined in Pennsylvania's Educational Quality Assessment program. Data came from the 1978 and 1979 assessments of fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade students. The 35 variables serving as correlates were classified as school (manipulable) and home/community (nonmanipulable), and were derived from…

Instruments to measure decision-making skills of grade 5, 8, and 11 students were developed as a part of Pennsylvania's statewide assessment program. A decision-making model was formulated based upon John Dewey's five major steps of the critical thinking process: (1) identify the problem; (2) establish the facts; (3) formulate the hypothesis; (4)…