The expansion of school choice and greater competition between schools is currently the centrepiece of government educational policy in the UK. There is an increasing emphasis on parents' right to choose their preferred schools, and whilst many parents may value choice itself, the advocates of these market oriented reforms usually argue that the…

This report describes the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and its 4-year outcomes. The program is a targeted private-school subsidy program that provides state aid to member schools in lieu of tuition. Students must come from households with income 1.75 times the poverty line or less, and eligible schools must have no religious affiliations.…

This study examined the effects of school attendance on the grade point averages (GPAs) of 70 regular education and 17 learning disabled fifth-graders in a rural school district. It found that school attendance had a significant positive influence on the regular education and learning disabled students' GPAs, indicating that absenteeism directly…

In an effort to provide statistical support for more stringent attendance policies, a study was conducted at McCook Community College (MCC) to determine whether there was a significant relationship between absences and grades in freshman composition classes. A literature review of similar studies conducted at both the secondary and postsecondary…

In fall 1985, a study was conducted at Broome Community College (BCC) in Binghamton, New York, to determine whether students who added a class on or after the first class meeting (i.e., late admits) were at greater risk of withdrawing or failing than students who registered on time (i.e., regular admits). Final grades awarded to students in ENG…

During the 1982-83 school year, the Sheridan County School District implemented a 4-day school week alternative schedule. The alternative schedule was approved by the Wyoming State Board of Education on two conditions. First, the State Attorney General must affirm the State Board's right to permit alternative scheduling. Second, an outside…

This paper describes the effectiveness of the Austin Independent School District's public school prekindergarten program during a 3-year period. In 1985-86, the program consisted of full-day classes serving low-achieving and limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in Chapter 1 schools. In 1986-87, the district implemented half-day classes in…

This report aims to reconstruct the experience of the participants within the school districts in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia during the six-week period of a strike/lockout of nonteaching employees. It also attempts to determine the labor dispute's major effects on school performance and to identify ways of minimizing the effects…

Studies the relationship between video game playing and academic achievement. Compares matched groups of community college psychology students, differing in the amount of their game playing. There were no differences between frequent and infrequent players on measures of psychology class attendance, locus of control, or grade point average.…

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) recently released its second annual list of schools that have not met their Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals. Targets for AYP are established by the state in accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. The list, also known as the priority schools list, identifies 896 schools…

In spring 1999, the Palm Beach County, Florida, Public Schools implemented an after school program designed to improve students' behavior, school attendance, and academic achievement. The program targeted 63 at-risk students in a high-needs elementary school. Students were identified as having behavioral and/or academic problems. Participants…

This report evaluates the performance of the California Academic Volunteer and Mentor Service Program, addressing an assessment of the impact of mentoring on middle school and high school student achievement, attendance, and behavior. The program's goal is to use volunteer mentors to provide support to children at risk of academic failure and…

Describes a study of students at Northern Illinois University (NIU) conducted to determine the characteristics, attendance patterns, grade point averages, and degree attainment of students who initiated their postsecondary education at a four-year college, transferred to a community college, and then transferred to NIU. (AYC)

A study of 2,100 freshmen at a public university examined the relationship of financial aid at 3 levels (receipt of any aid, total amount of aid, type/amount of aid), grade point average, and full- versus part-time attendance to persistence from the first to the second semester. With the exception of scholarships, financial aid did not affect…

Compulsory attendance policies have been instituted in higher education with the expectation that academic achievement will improve, but empirical research on this relationship is equivocal. One theory of motivation posits that students' motivational beliefs, classroom context, and student behaviors are important variables in academic achievement.…