This book of instructional activities for grades nine through twelve contains Delaware's State Content Standards for English Language Arts. The standards were developed in 1985 by a committee of teachers representing all grade levels. Used as a basis for curriculum planning in school districts throughout Delaware, the standards were designed to…

One of the most ambitious attempts to assess students' understanding of mathematics was carried out in England between 1974 and 1979. The results of this study indicate that there is a need in an overall assessment program to evaluate students' algebraic understanding as well as to measure their achievement in algebraic manipulations and problem…

In 1987, the administration of North Carolina Competency Tests to public school sophomores resulted in 94.4% passing the reading test and 90.6% passing the mathematics test. Rates were similar to rates for the 1986 sophomores, but were higher than rates for juniors in the 1978-1983 period. The 1987 passing rate in mathematics was lower than for…

The course materials included in this guide are intended to introduce students to the manufacturing industry and its relationships with society, individuals, and the environment. The following topics are covered in the nine learning modules: manufacturing and society and manufacturing systems; manufacturing materials and processes (types of…

This guide, in English- and Spanish-language versions, shares with parents information about the South Carolina Curriculum Standards. The standards outline state requirements for children's learning and what students across the state should be able to do in certain subjects. The guide lists seven key reasons parents should be aware of the new…

Ethnographic methods were used to assess three learning-disabled and three normal tenth and eleventh grade boys at a school with an unusually low dropout rate. Institutional, classroom, and interpersonal factors behind the schools' student retention ability are described. (TJH)

Reports on a study of 208 high school students on the relationship between interest in 4 subject areas and the quality of experience in class. Finds that interest was a significant predictor of the experience of potency, intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, and perception of skill. (CFR)

A survey of 531 tenth graders in an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epicenter confirms their risk of acquiring the AIDS virus. Because socioenvironmental factors may strongly influence AIDS risk behavior, elucidation of the social influence process among adolescents should become a prevention research priority. (SLD)

Longitudinal data in St. Paul (Minnesota) for 1,001 ninth graders and 962 of them as tenth graders show that part-time work experience and mastery orientation are reciprocally related for adolescents. Youth more internally oriented in grade 9 had less stressful jobs in grade 10. Extrinsic work conditions are sources of control orientation. (SLD)

Describes a study of high school students that investigated the impact of computer-assisted learning (CAL) integrated with classroom-laboratory instruction versus classroom-laboratory work alone on students' achievement and mastery of science process skills in a microbiology course. Posttest scores are compared and the curriculum integration of…

Studied gender differences in answers to constructed-response mathematics items on approximately 500 papers from grades 7 and 10 from the Kansas Assessment Program. Rubric-relevant variables were highly predictive of holistic scores and accounted for some of the gender differences, especially in grade 7. (SLD)

An investigation was designed to reveal, describe, and assess the rote-level and meaningful-level understandings students attained as they progressed through the learning of new concepts. This study used an assessment technique used in previous research called "mental modeling" to ascertain the nature (meaningful, rote) of the…

This 1-week study explored the extent to which high school students (n=140) acquired meaningful understanding of selected biological topics (meiosis and the Punnett square method) and the relationship between these topics. This study: (1) examined "mental modeling" as a technique for measuring students' meaningful understanding of the…

This study investigated the retention of meaningful understanding of the biological topics of meiosis, the Punnett square method and the relations between these two topics. This study also explored the predictive influence of students' general tendency to learn meaningfully or by rote (meaningful learning orientation), prior knowledge of meiosis,…

This unit is a collection of lessons for teaching about cultural clashes. Based on primary sources, the unit contains teacher background materials and three lesson plans with student resources. These lessons deal with the United States between World War I and World War II. The United States emerged from World War I with seismic faults in its…