Act 619 of the 1984 Louisiana legislative session initiated the State-Funded Program for High-Risk Four-Year-Olds, which is intended to improve the school readiness of preschool students. This document is the program evaluation report for 1990 and 1991. Part 1 of the report is a comprehensive program description which provides information on: (1)…

A survey was conducted of 484 Alaska teachers who hold an endorsement in special education, to determine their movement patterns, incentives to continue teaching, deterrents to teaching in special education, and future career plans. Findings included: (1) the mean average number of years of teaching in special education was 10; (2) the majority of…

This study focuses on the need to know more about Nevada science teachers, their current teaching situations, their educational and experience backgrounds, their needs, and their opinions. Questionnaires were mailed to all 471 Nevada educational personnel assigned to teach science classes in the spring of 1990. The number of respondents was 345.…

Six classroom research-based instructional projects funded under Chapter 2 are described, and their outcomes are summarized. The projects each used computer hardware and software in the classroom setting. The projects and their salient points include: (1) the Science Technology Project, in which 48 teachers and 2,847 students in 18 schools used…

A national study assessed attitudes of minority and nonminority parents and nonparent adults on parent involvement and other educational issues. Telephone interviews with 1,148 adults, including 806 parents with at least one child in kindergarten through grade 12 and 342 adults (called "nonparents") who did not have children in those…

While the emphasis and content of school mathematics differ little between Japan and America, by the time students reach junior high school, performance as measured by international studies differs greatly. This report provides a profile of the attitudes toward, strategies used, and performance on mental computation of Japanese students in grades…

This practicum was designed to develop an effective homework-assistance program in an after school and evening youth center. Before the program was introduced, a facility was available, but few students attended. The author reorganized and restructured the facility and its services to attract participants, motivate them to complete their homework,…

This guide for parents of gifted children in South Dakota provides information and help in the following areas: (1) identifying personal feelings about giftedness (a self-assessment instrument); (2) deciding who is gifted (including federal and South Dakota definitions); (3) characteristics of giftedness (myths versus facts); (4) the school's role…

The results are provided of a statewide content verification survey of "expert" educators designed to verify indicators in the 1989-90 System for Teaching and Learning Assessment and Review (STAR) as reasonable expectations for beginning and/or experienced teachers (BETs) in Louisiana and as providing professional endorsement at the…

A special effort was undertaken in 1988 to increase the number of females in the University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (UMTYMP), a program of accelerated mathematics instruction for elementary school, junior high school, and senior high school students. As part of this effort, attitudinal data were collected from participants.…

This practicum addresses the need to organize a structured problem solving program for fifth and seventh grade students. The improvement of the students' problem solving skills and the enhancement of students' attitudes toward problem solving in mathematics were the main goals. The program implemented consisted of a structured problem solving…

An instrument used to assess educational environments for computers as new tools for teaching and learning was studied in grades 2, 3, and 4 of the Atlanta (Georgia) Public Schools (APS) in May 1990. The instrument contained 46 items indexing: (1) the immediate and expanded spaces for the computer stations; (2) the presence of software and…

The model used to evaluate the mathematics curriculum of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools (Maryland) involved three phases: the curriculum; instruction, or the implementation of the curriculum; and students' attitudes, performance, and later success. The evaluation was conducted in 1984. Data were collected from seven sources: a review of…

This checklist is designed to help elementary school principals assess and improve science programs in their schools. The checklist is divided into four major sections, each dealing with an area that has an impact on these programs: (1) administrative aspects, considering the science curriculum plan, provisions for science in the budget,…

The goal of this study was to answer the question: "When ethnically diverse fourth- and fifth-grade students participate in a ten-week musical program, are there any shifts in the following: academic performance, attitude towards school, social skills, self-esteem, public speaking ability, and/or school attendance?" This study was…