The importance of theory and experimental findings in giving direction, structure, and comprehensibility to research about self-concept is discussed. Analysis of the necessary affective variables to be included in the systematic experimentally-based development of effective educational programs in the affective domain is emphasized. (Author/AL)

Whether word-reading processes operated similarly in 72 adult literacy students and 72 elementary school students matched for reading level was studied. The same orthographic and phonological processes appear to govern in both, but correlations between word reading and spelling were weaker for adults. (SLD)

Analysis of data from 332 Arkansas school districts indicates that 4 of the 8 noninstructional variables analyzed had significant relationships to the fourth grade reading scores: percentage of minority students, number of students eligible for free or reduced lunches, percentage of staff holding master's degrees or above, and relative wealth of…

Two-thirds of schoolchildren in America attend class in states with mediocre (or worse) expectations for what their students should learn. That's just one of the findings of Fordham's The State of State Standards 2006, which evaluates state academic standards. The average state grade is a "C-minus"--the same as six years earlier, even…

In Summer Learning and the Effects of Schooling, Barabara Heyns found that schooling has a marked impact on achievement. This conclusion is based on analyses that show school-year achievement gains are greater than summer gains, summer being considered a temporary absence of schooling. Heyns' data came from a household survey and…

A study involving students in two English classes and two algebra classes at the College of Alameda was conducted to assess the correlation between a student's grade achievement and his/her ability to read at the level at which the course text was written. The Fry Readability Scale was used to determine the reading level of the course texts and…

Twelve schools with higher reading levels than expected, on the basis of family incomes, were examined on 67 variables. Results indicated that schools achieving higher than expected were smaller, had lower pupil mobility, had teachers with more structured methods, and had principals and students with more positive reading attitudes. (JAZ)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of three basic demographic variables on reading test scores for students in the middle elementary grades. Limited English proficiency (LEP), race/ethnicity and socio-economic status (SES) were studied to determine their influence individually and in combination on performance in large-scale…

"Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study in basic science or clinical research. This brief reports on the study "Contemporaneous and Longitudinal Associations between Social Behavior and Literacy Achievement in a Sample of Low Income Elementary School Children" (S. B. Miles and D. Stipek). In two groups of…

The relationship between scores on Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) scores and subtest scores and IQs from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) was studied for 28 children aged 6 to 11 years. Subjects had been referred to a university assessment center because they were believed to have exceptional learning…

A study examined the relationship between the attendance of parents of low-achieving students at scheduled school meetings and conferences and student performance in reading and language arts. Data were gathered from 73 Chapter 1 schools in the Dallas Independent School District. Variables used were the performance of Chapter 1 students in reading…

The ways in which students' perceptions of teacher behavior in the elementary school classroom clarifies the relationships among teacher expectations, student expectations, and student achievement are examined. Subjects in two data sets consisted of 234 grade 4-6 students from 16 classrooms in an urban, ethnically mixed school district, and 101…

Correlates of reading and writing achievement were examined in Pennsylvania's Educational Quality Assessment program. Data came from the 1978 and 1979 assessments of fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade students. The 35 variables serving as correlates were classified as school (manipulable) and home/community (nonmanipulable), and were derived from…

The study explored the effects of two kindergarten program organization factors--length of school day and class size--on kindergartners' reading, math and general knowledge achievement at the end of the kindergarten year. Two waves of data were drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) with an…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the number of Accelerated Reader points accumulated by students and their level of self-efficacy and value of reading. The fourteen week study examined 68 fourth grade students who attended an elementary school in a suburban location near a large Midwestern city.…