In the Louisiana Basic Skills Testing (BST) program, initiated in 1982, criterion-referenced tests of language arts and mathematics were administered to all second grade students. Longitudinal data over three years tracked four cohorts of students to address when retention appears to be most effective and whether a combination of repeated…

To assist low achieving students in the mastery of instructional objectives in major subject areas, the Ministry of Education of Israel published definitions of Minimum Achievement Requirements (MAR) for specific subjects at all grade levels. To examine the feasibility of the MAR approach and to determine whether it contributed to the attainment…

In light of substantial declines in enrollments in liberal arts mathematics courses in two-year colleges, this paper looks at some of the reasons for these declines and suggests ways of revitalizing the traditional "great ideas" mathematics course. First, a brief outline is presented of the history of liberal arts mathematics, focusing on the…

The writing test at Colorado State University determines which students move from basic composition into the college composition course. Initially, all incoming students take a placement test similar to the holistically scored writing tests administered by the Educational Testing Service. This placement test, along with other information, provides…

Social LIFE (Social Learning of Independence through Functional Experiences), a game used as a means of developing new social skills in a variety of settings and social situations and involving players and a mediator (instructor), is described. Appropriate responses to the game situations are rewarded by points or play money. Target behaviors or…

The United States needs a vocational educational system that delivers, in an applied technological setting, the new basic skills that industry needs, as well as a general education system that provides creative instruction in applied math, physics, and science. To be effective, technological training should encompass, along with machine-specific…

The need for colleges to develop critical thinking skills in mainstream courses is emerging as an issue of national significance. Students benefit from clearly articulated and pedagogically sound courses that directly and explicitly teach thinking skills, as well as from efforts to reinforce these abilities across the curriculum. At LaGuardia…

Eight sixth-grade students received individualized instruction on the addition and subtraction of fractions in a one-to-one setting for 6 weeks. Instruction was specifically designed to build upon the student's prior knowledge of fraction ideas and to emphasize estimation. It was determined that all students possessed a rich store of prior…

In an analysis of Japanese, Korean, and American elementary school reading textbooks to determine their differences, the weight and size of each book were measured, the number of pages totaled, and the content analyzed. Categories chosen for the content analysis included science (physical, life, and social science), literature, and basic skills.…

The exploratory investigation was guided by four research questions: (1) what are the similarities and differences in the readiness status between rural and urban first graders; (2) what is the relationship between the readiness status and socioeconomic status of rural and urban first graders; (3) what are the similarities and differences in the…

Attempts to train learning strategies have not produced marked or lasting increases in academic IQ, probably because current training models fail to recognize the evolutionary nature of strategies acquisition. Empirical and theoretical evidence supports an incidental learning model, which engineers the instructional environment following study…

These papers, delivered at the 1981 World Assembly of the International Council on Education for Teaching, reflect the theme of the conference: provision of basic education for all persons, focusing particularly on policies and situations in developing nations. The 14 presentations were from nine nations: (1) "Curriculum Materials for Basic…

Summaries of research results concerning school-age children and youth are provided in four sections of this report. Each of the four substantive sections focuses on one of the following aspects of schooling: curriculum, classroom and school management, career preparation, and special needs and programs. The pages of the summary are organized in a…

To assist the Illinois Basic Skills Program, the Illinois Speech and Theatre Association (ISTA) developed a task force that offered the state assistance in (1) facilitating oral communication learning in Illinois schools with an emphasis upon the utilization of existing school programs and staff; (2) developing a plan for a systematic approach to…

A group of 767 children in Finland were studied over their first six years in school to discover what kind of variation there is in school readiness, what kind of development takes place in these variables during the basic school period, what relationship exists between these variables, to what extent heredity explains the differences, how far the…