"January Undergraduate Move Ahead Program" (JUMP) uses winter break as an opportunity to prepare small groups of scholarship students with high financial need for the second semester of their first-year biology curriculum and a career in life science. A winter intersession program has challenges, but more importantly, benefits that…

The number of applications to postsecondary institutions continues to increase year over year, and in most cases, the number of applications exceeds the number of students admitted. The use of standardized tests continues to grow to help in these admissions decisions. Due to both high usage rates and the changing demographics of our nation's…

Course-based undergraduate research is promoted as an equitable strategy for providing the benefits of research experiences to a larger, more diverse population of students pursuing science degrees. Here, we report the impacts of course-based research on the self-efficacy and future goals of students enrolled in introductory biology courses at a…

The central goal of this study was to create a new diagnostic tool to identify organic chemistry students' alternative conceptions related to acid strength. Twenty years of research on secondary and college students' conceptions about acids and bases has shown that these important concepts are difficult for students to apply to qualitative problem…

In 2005, West Virginia science and education leaders developed a strategic plan entitled: "Vision 2015: The West Virginia Science and Technology Strategic Plan." The plan is comprised of five (5) target areas for infrastructure development, with 14 goals for action by designated leaders from higher education, state government, and…

Although the educational evaluation process is useful and valuable and is supported by the Higher Education Act, a strong research base for program evaluation of college entry-level science courses is still lacking. Studies in science disciplines such as, biology, chemistry, and physics have addressed various affective and demographic factors and…

This report summarizes a survey into the governance, use, and support of the behavioral and social sciences in the United States for the last 40 years. The document contains sections which deal with: (1) some major aspects in the history of the relationship between the federal government and the behavioral and social sciences; (2) major fields of…

This is the eighth in the second series of general bibliographies developed to disseminate information on documents analyzed at the ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science Education. Reported are some 36 citations of selected documents in the areas of (1) legislative acts and reports, (2) administration and supervision, and (3) science…

This is the eighth in the third series of general bibliographies developed to disseminate information on documents analyzed at the ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science Education. Reported are some 39 citations of selected documents in the areas of (1) legislative acts and reports, (2) administration and supervision, and (3) science…

This is the eighth in a series of general bibliographies which are being developed to disseminate information concerning documents analyzed at the ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science Education. Reported are over 30 citations to selected documents in the areas of (1) legislative acts and reports, (2) administration and supervision, and (3)…

An American Chemical Society (ACS) task force was charged to examine the state of chemistry education in the United States and to make recommendations in light of its findings. This document presents the task force's report and 39 major (and also secondary) recommendations. These recommendations, with accompanying discussions, focus on: (1)…

Researchers who track the American labor market told Congress last week that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the United States has more than enough scientists and engineers and that federal agencies and universities should reform the way they train young scientists to better match the supply of scientists with the demand for researchers. At a…

Presented are statistical data from the National Science Foundation fall survey of Graduate Science Student Support. This survey included graduate schools with master's and doctoral programs in science, engineering, and medicine. (SA)

Argues that the recent "crisis" in science education was unfounded. Claims that the reduction in federal funding through the National Science Foundation in 1981 was the real problem that precipitated the concerns about scientific literacy. (TW)

The eight working papers presented in this compendium were prepared for the National Science Foundation (NSF) as one means to assist the Office of Science and Technology Policy with preparation of the Administration's Annual Science and Technology Report to the Congress, 1981. They focus on specific aspects of three central themes directly related…