Explores how the focus on class rank has affected students from star public high schools, creating a disadvantage when students try to enter elite colleges. Explains a new approach, "winner-take-all," being utilized in high schools in which schools focus on the top students. Includes references. (CMK)

This article examines available literature on a variety of options for accelerated learning in middle school. Different forms addressed include concurrent enrollment, guided independent study, combined enrollment, out-of-school acceleration, self-paced instruction, grade skipping, and differentiated or advanced class enrollment. A list of…

This study of 905 academically talented students (ages 12-16) who completed a 1-year course in high school biology, chemistry, or physics in a 3-week summer program found that the fast-paced courses effectively prepared subjects to accelerate in science and that talented students could begin high school sciences earlier than generally allowed.…

Discusses the proposed Advanced Placement (AP) world history curriculum. Argues against beginning the course at 1000 CE, stating that it should begin at the Axial Age (approximately 800 to 200 BCE) or earlier. Offers suggestions for constructing the proposed "Foundations" course introduction around six one-week units. (CMK)

This book is designed to help advanced placement students better understand macroeconomic concepts through various activities. The book contains 6 units with 64 activities, sample multiple-choice questions, sample short essay questions, and sample long essay questions. The units are entitled: (1) "Basic Economic Concepts"; (2) "Measuring Economic…

The hypothesis that the planning activities of classroom teachers correlate with the practices of instructional design professionals is explored within the context of this study. Classroom teachers participated in a survey which requested information regarding their planning routines. The 35-item two part questionnaire that was used as the data…

The International Baccalaureate, a special program for bright public and private high school students, is described in transcriptions of broadcasts from National Public Radio. Over half the 43 schools in Canada and the United States that offer the program are public. For the approximately 1,200 high school juniors and seniors in North America…

These materials illustrate the ideas presented in the "Guide for Foreign Languages in Utah." Learning activities, materials, and evaluation procedures have been written to help the language teacher who has never had a methods course, as well as the experienced teacher who is searching for new ideas. The materials begin with a basic unit similar to…

The main purposes in examining and evaluating the Advanced Placement English Program in Salt Lake and Granite School Districts were to identify the essential curriculum features of the program, to make suggestions for curriculum improvement, and to determine whether or not the quality of the AP English Program surpassed that of the conventional…

This paper attempts to determine whether increased levels of involvement among socially advantaged parents accounts for children's track placements. Research has shown that students of higher social classes have a greater advantage in attaining placement in elite math sequences. Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey (1988) was…

This transcript reproduces a Department of Education/College Board-sponsored discussion on ways to expand advanced-placement (AP) opportunities in high schools. The deliberations open with a presentation by the associate director of the College Board, who is responsible for the national promotion of pre-AP initiatives. This portion of the document…

Describes challenges facing College Board's efforts to expand Advanced Placement (A.P.) courses to provide equal access to previously underserved low-performing urban and rural school students while maintaining the program's high academic standards. Includes list of strategies school boards can use to achieve greater access to A.P. courses while…

Highlights the strengths of the Advanced Placement American Government and Politics program and observes the program produces students who do well in college. Mentions a major weakness is the educational background of the instructors, and recommends using summer teaching institutes to ensure a minimal level of competency. (NL)

Describes how an intensive journalistic writing course motivated students by combining journalistic writing with a school-history research project. (MM)

A college-level introductory psychology course was completed by gifted adolescents. Post-course and remote-post-course measures for the 100 participants and controls demonstrated that knowledge gain from course participation was substantial and long-lived, affecting the quality of the students' understanding, their ability to generalize and apply…