In this article, the authors clarify and provide additional tests of the key elements of their age-period-cohort analysis of non-marital birth rates in this March 2009 issue of "Social Forces." Where Steve Martin, in his commentary, has suggested specific alternative specifications or interpretations of their findings, the authors have…

This paper re-considers some of the evidence for low and declining social mobility in Britain, showing that one study based on a re-analysis of cohort figures appears to have had an impact on policy-makers out of all proportion to its scale and rigor. The study claimed to show that the income of parents and children were more closely related for…

American volunteers, both informally and through organizations like the Corporation for National Service, make huge contributions to the well-being of millions of Americans and, via their unpaid or minimally-reimbursed work, to the American economy. Can America continue to count on maintaining or increasing volunteer contributions in the future?…

This technical report addresses the complexities of calculating dropout rates and presents results from one method of calculation that represented Chicago Public Schools (CPS) dropout rates over several years. The goal was to develop an indicator that would provide accurate and comparable measurement over a sufficient length of time to reveal the…

Concludes "that the one seemingly serious effort of Baltes and Schaie to contest the points of the Horn-Donaldson criticisms only brings us around to the same sad conclusion: that no matter how one looks at the Schaie data, it suggests that, on the average, there is age decline in many important abilities of intelligence." (Author/JM)

Summarizes the conduct and results of the Seattle Longitudinal Study, an investigation that has assessed mental abilities in more than 5,000 adults and has followed some for as long as 35 years. Integrative findings are presented on age changes, cohort differences, factor structure, individual differences, and interventions. (SLD)

The Office of Research and Evaluation of the Austin Independent School District (AISD) in Austin, Texas has reported yearly high school dropout counts since the 1983-1984 school year. This report presents data from three cohorts of high school students--those enrolled in 1983-1984, 1984-1985, and 1985-1986. The method used to assign dropout status…