GRADES OR AGES: Grades 7-10. SUBJECT MATTER: Language arts. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The guide is divided into four color-coded sections, one for each grade. It is mimeographed and looseleaf-bound with a paper cover. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES: No objectives are mentioned. Activities listed in each section are organized into thematic…

The data for this report were obtained from the Monitoring the Future study. Surveys from eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade respondents were used to examine adolescents' reasons for use, abstention, and quitting illicit drug use. Many reasons were found for drug use. Abstainers provided more reasons for their abstention than quitters gave for their…

The present study investigated the stability of response intransitivity in the method of paired comparisons over a two-year period. Intransitivity scores obtained from two administrations of the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire were correlated to determine stability. Results provided support for the linear relationship between the two measures.…

Data from 245 male and 257 female adolescents who reported occupational aspirations and expectations in grades 8, 9, and 10 indicated that those who had significant aspiration-expectation discrepancies in one grade made significant changes in aspiration the following year. To the extent the changes were toward more realistic or accessible…

This brochure displays the following data for seven counties in southeastern Wisconsin for the 2006-2007 school year: (1) Total operations expenditures; (2) Property tax revenue; (3) Total enrollment; (4) One-year change in enrollment; (5) Minority enrollment; (6) Free or reduced lunch; (7) Graduation rate; (8) 3rd, 4th, 8th and 10th grade…

While research shows that low levels of social acceptance and elevated body dissatisfaction increase risks for depressive symptoms among both girls and boys, little is known about protective factors that can mediate these risks. We test the hypothesis that positive team sports involvement mediates the effects of these risks on depression in a…

This general achievement trends profile includes information that the Center on Education Policy (CEP) and the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) obtained from states from fall 2008 through April 2009. Included herein are: (1) Bullet points summarizing key findings about achievement trends in that state at three performance…

The Monitoring the Future study has provided the nation with a window into the important, but largely hidden, problem behaviors of illicit drug use, alcohol use, and tobacco use. It has provided a clearer view of the changing topography of these problems among adolescents and adults, a better understanding of the dynamics of factors that drive…

Examined students' after-school pursuits by category (in- or out-of-school, academic or non-academic, organized or unorganized), considering the association of the pursuits with achievement after dis-aggregating the data by ethnicity. Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study indicated that differing pursuits had differing levels of…

Explores the frequency with which students use background media in self-instructional home study settings, and the perceived effects of students' use of background media on their homework performance. Examines the results from 1,700 students in grades 8 and 10. Finds that there was variability in background media use dependent on assignment type.…

Efforts to improve civic education face a conundrum. On the one hand, students report that they are more likely to learn about democracy and citizenship through reading textbooks than through any other activity and according to the National Education Association, reading is the gateway to learning in all content areas. However, reviews of textbook…

Monitoring the Future (MTF), which is now in its 36th year, is a research program conducted at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research under a series of investigator-initiated research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study is comprised of several ongoing series of annual surveys of nationally representative…

A study examined the degree of relationships between scores on each of three locally developed reading subskills tests and overall reading success as measured by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS). Subjects, 758 students from grades 1 through 6, grade 8 and grade 10 from three different southern Indiana school districts, were given locally…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of using different mathematics textbooks on the mathematical computational ability of students as a method of assessing the effectiveness of different mathematics instruction. This study resulted from a 1963 report which discussed the results of the New Hampshire Statewide Eighth Grade Testing…