A project examined the mathematics and science performance of vocational students in Ohio. Part I of the study achieved the first objective--to report the science and mathematics content contained within the Ohio Vocational Achievement Tests for the 38 program areas. Each of the 38 tests was presented and found to have sound psychometric…

The seven High Schools That Work (HSTW) sites making the most progress in raising student achievement between 1990-1993 are changing the high school system and succeeding with a group of students often considered hopeless. They use the HSTW framework of key practices to improve curriculum and instruction. The specific HSTW goal is to close by…

A longitudinal study designed to test hypotheses about the relationships between academic achievement, cognitive styles, and verbal competence is described. One entire class of 1,548 students of a large municipal college was followed from college entry in 1967 through entry into postgraduate and occupational training. Data were taken from tests,…

This document is intended to help communities plan and implement initiatives modeled after Making Academics Count, a campaign that was launched in 1997 by the Business Coalition for Education Reform (BCER) to encourage employers to ask job applicants for their school records and thereby help motivate students to achieve at higher levels. The guide…

This report examines the extent to which Job Corps improves literacy and numeracy skills. Chapter I provides an overview of Job Corps and discusses key policy issues related to basic skills and study objectives. Chapter II addresses study design issues, interview response rates, and analytic methods used to estimate program impacts on literacy…

Designed for migrant students in grades 9 through 12, the Yo Puedo Program attempted to motivate students to remain in and graduate from high school and to continue their education at the university level. The 5-week summer program, conducted at the University of California at Santa Cruz, provided an academic setting and a positive learning…

The paper summarizes a National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report, "Reading, Science and Mathematic Trends: A Closer Look," in which achievement trends are compared in several subjects for 4th, 8th, and 11th grade black students, white students, low achievers, and high achievers. Findings indicate that while overall…

In 1992, the U.S. Departments of Defense and Education jointly created a new high school program aimed at encouraging at-risk youth to remain in school until graduation. The program, which is a marriage of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and the comprehensive high school reform initiative known as career academies, was called…

POLYTECH High School in Woodside, Delaware, has gone from being among the worst schools in the High Schools That Work (HSTW) network to among the best. Polytech, which is now a full-time technical high school, has improved its programs and outcomes by implementing a series of organizational, curriculum, teaching, guidance, and leadership changes,…

This document presents nine papers from a symposium on challenges currently facing U.S. high schools and their role in preparing students for high achievement in postsecondary education. The following papers are included: "What Ails High Schools? How Should They Be Reformed? Is There a Federal Role?" (Chester E. Finn); "Achievement:…

Subject choice by students in year 12 in Australian secondary schools was examined by using data on the 1995 cohort participating in the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth project. The seven broad categories of English, mathematics, humanities and social sciences, economics and business, biological and physical sciences, and the arts…

The labor market outcomes of non-college-bound high school graduates were examined by analyzing the 1980 High School and Beyond Fourth Follow-up Survey, which contains information on more than 14,000 former high school students who were interviewed in 1980 as sophomores and again in 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1992. The study concentrated on respondents…

The manual provides information to assist administrators in deciding whether to adopt and implement the STARS program, a grade 9 and 10 science, math, and language arts curriculum designed to provide Kodiak Island, Alaska, students with academic skills, vocational training, and village skills to be successful whether they choose to go to college,…

The benefits of offering high school students career and technical education (CTE) in addition to training in basic academic skills and the cost-effectiveness of CTE were examined by reviewing available data on demand, supply, and results for CTE. The analysis confirmed that the market and demand for workers with only a high school education still…

This document contains five papers. "Vocational Teacher Education in U.S. Colleges and Universities and Its Responsiveness to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990" (Richard L. Lynch) documents the trend toward decreasing enrollments in teacher training programs in virtually all vocational fields.…