In 1965 the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) inaugurated a cross-national survey of achievement in six subjects: Science, Reading Comprehension, Literature, English as a Foreign Language, French as a Foreign Language, and Civic Education. The overall aim of the project was to use international tests in…

This inquiry examines the composing process of twelfth-grade writers, using a case study method. Eight twelfth graders were asked, in four sessions, each, to give autobiographies of their writing experiences and to compose aloud three times in the presence of a tape recorder and an investigator. Four hypotheses were formulated: (1) Twelfth-grade…

The 1983 report, "A Nation at Risk," left education researchers with the important question of how much student achievement, for youth who stay in school, grows during different stages of schooling. Data are available to answer this question for high school students, and the same data source, the National Education Longitudinal Study of…

The high school curriculum in the U.S., especially during the senior year, tends to lack in academic intensity. This document argues that not only are high school seniors not being challenged during their senior year, but they are also not preparing for college during that time. A wasted senior year, or "senior slump," can result in…

The long-term effectiveness of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) was assessed by contrasting drug use and other D.A.R.E.-related attitudinal latent variables among 356 12th graders who received the program in 6th grade with 264 students who did not receive the program. Results suggest a possible sleeper effect for the program. (SLD)

A sample of 333 8th, 10th, and 12th graders completed a questionnaire measuring their academic motivational orientations through items investigating perceptions of causal attributions and actual causal attributions. Results show a number of gender differences, with girls more likely to attribute failure to lack of ability and lack of effort. (SLD)

Examined how high school students, in individual and peer conditions, process scientific information that contradicts what they believe, and assessed the contribution of this activity to conceptual change. Results indicated two processing approaches: (1) direct assimilation; and (2) knowledge building, suggesting that knowledge building as a…

Consultant preference (familiar or expert adult or peer) of 122 male and 125 female Canadian adolescents was examined in relation to self-concept and locus of control. Results reveal significant interaction among age, sex, and consultant choice as well as among self-worth, locus of control, situation, and consultant choice. (SLD)

The contributions of dating status, grade, gender, and family structure to the frequency and intensity of normative conflict and to behavioral autonomy were studied in 859 10th and 12th graders. The importance of focusing on developmental patterns as well as age in assessing adolescent conflict is highlighted by the findings. (SLD)

A goal of this double issue of English Teaching: Practice and Critique is to collectively consider what we mean when we talk about knowledge about language. How have our understandings changed over time? What are the implications of these new understandings for pedagogy in the field of language teaching? These are necessary and important…

Beginning in February 1994, twelfth-grade students who have passed the Ohio Ninth-grade Proficiency Tests in all areas will take the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Tests in writing, reading, mathematics, and citizenship. This fact sheet describes the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Test in writing, which is designed to measure a twelfth-grade level of…

Beginning in February 1994, twelfth-grade students who have passed the Ohio Ninth-grade Proficiency Tests in all areas will take the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Tests in writing, reading, mathematics, and citizenship. This fact sheet describes the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Test in mathematics, which is designed to measure a twelfth-grade level of…

This practicum was designed because out of school suspensions as a disciplinary procedure were not effective in changing students' behaviors. The students felt angry and rejected by the teachers, and they did not feel part of the school culture. The practicum offered a peace curriculum designed to be used in content academic areas, small groups,…

This paper discusses a study that compared enrollment patterns in advanced math and science courses of (n=720) junior and senior girls in public coed and parochial all-girls high schools in Louisiana. The study also examined survey responses regarding career goals and positive and negative career influences on girls. The same survey responses from…

The hardware and software system used to create the National Opinion Research Center/Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (NORC/CRESST) item databases and test booklets for the 12th-grade science assessment are described. A general description of the capabilities of the system is given, with some specific information…