Eighty-six "at-risk" students (aged 14-16) participated in an 8-week program of immersion in vocational training, academics, counseling, recreation, and performing arts. Students improved in academic areas and in their understanding of the world of work, but self-concept measures showed a decline and the program's impact on dropout likelihood was…

The efficiency of oral error correction was investigated as a function of 35 Dutch-speaking high school seniors' individual characteristics of aptitude, motivation, anxiety, and previous achievement. Results were mixed but generally suggest that error correction does not lead to across-the-board improvement of achievement. (Contains 55…

Introduces three perspectives on the Hawthorne Elementary School (Houston, Texas) reform effort. The case studies indicate that successful restructuring of schools serving highly disadvantaged communities is possible. (GR)

Examines the notion that schools should help foster students' self-esteem and discusses whether this notion helps students meet high academic and disciplinary standards or actually hinders their efforts. It is argued that attention to self-esteem will only excessively expand egos at the expense of the self-critical struggle that is necessary for…

Addresses the problem of declining parental involvement as children progress through school, and argues that middle grade educators bear the responsibility for determining reasons for parental non-involvement and being proactive in fostering such involvement. Discusses deterrents to involvement, varying descriptors of involvement, and steps middle…

The authors examine the promises and prospects of using student engagement data to promote success at minority-serving institutions.

This practicum report describes a staff development program that was designed to implement a peer tutoring program in which nonhandicapped students instructed three trainable mentally handicapped peers in a regular high-school setting. The program was implemented to increase the achievement of handicapped students in basic academic skills that…

This paper reviews the literature on telephone-based schoolwork assistance programs and describes the activities of several such programs. Research literature indicates that properly organized lessons and assignments result in greater student achievement. Research on characteristics of students who procrastinate in doing their schoolwork is…

A study investigated whether teachers who receive training and then implement more effective instructional practices change in the reasons they offer for their effectiveness. Comparisons were made between 46 intermediate and high school teachers in a large urban school system who were trained in and implemented mastery learning techniques, and 50…

A longitudinal investigation was conducted on the development of conservation skills in learning disabled (LD) children. During each of 3 years, six measures of conservation from the Concept Assessment Kit (space, number, substance, weight, continuous quantity, and discontinuous quantity) were administered to 31 newly identified LD students and 33…

Findings of the evaluation of New York City's Project SAIL, an ungraded primary unit, located at Brooklyn's Public School 41, District 23, and intended for children 5-8 years of age, this report. Teachers reported that they found the first year of the program to be simultaneously exciting and frustrating. Over 80 percent of the teachers involved…

This document uses a question-and-answer format to explain different approaches and techniques for measuring and evaluating the progress of Missouri special needs students. Following an overview and six-word glossary, the topics covered include the purposes of evaluation; the role of the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) or IVEP (Individualized…

In response to the increased movement toward competency-based education, a large urban southeastern school system implemented a Pupil Progression Policy in the 1980-81 school year. This paper reports on the results of a 5-year longitudinal study of the policy's effect on the academic achievement of retained and promoted students who entered first…

Presented is a compilation of materials concerning the Augusta College Humanities Program in Augusta, Georgia, beginning with a brief description of the program and its background. In 1984, the college began a 2.5-year project to revitalize and strengthen its required sophomore level three course humanities sequence (Greece and Rome, the Middle…

School children can learn even more when the school and parents work as a team. Parents can become active members in the school community by attending parent conferences, volunteering, and voting in school elections. Other ways that parents can help the school are by being aware of what their children are learning in school and communicating with…