This quasi-experiment was designed to assess Robert Slavin's challenge to research on the effects of mastery learning on student achievement in algebra. Focus was on determining if there would be a difference in mathematics achievement between an experimental group (EG) of students whose initial cognitive entry skills were enhanced and who were…

A study of the effectiveness of teaching science to 2 classes of 15 and 20 ninth-graders, respectively, illustrates 5 aspects of educational evaluation: age factors in teachability, test unidimensionality, comparison of 2 classes of students regarding mean ability, objective difficulty of test items, and objective ability of individual students.…

The roles of risk and protective factors were studied in 74 male and 105 female adolescents from a middle and lower income northeastern school district. Protective factors (family cohesion, locus of control mother/father communication, and relationships with a nonparent adult) were highly context-specific but were powerful predictors of…

Data from 5,065 Dutch ninth grade students participating in the Second International Science Study were analyzed to assess gender differences in achievement, attitudes, and perceptions of science. Significant sex differences found were effectively portrayed using a model developed by J. S. Eccles (1987). (TJH)

To date, few studies have examined the relationship between health behavior risk factors and cigarette smoking in Hungary. From 1995 to 1999, the prevalence of current smoking increased from 35.9 to 46.0% among secondary students in Budapest, Hungary. The objective of the present study was to examine the association between smoking and other…

School bullying is often considered to be the fuel behind school violence. In a recent report by the Families and Work Institute, students reported that is was the small things, such as teasing, which often triggered serious episodes of violence. On the school campus, between 20 to 30% of the students report frequent involvement in bullying…

This report presents data from the 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88), which started with an eighth grade cohort and aimed to provide data on dropout experiences as students made the transition into high school and to examine the contextual school and family factors associated with dropping out. The report offers extensive…

Descriptive data were collected from male and female students in grades 7, 9, and 11 on five learner attributes commonly reported as influencing student learning and/or motivation: desire for approval of others, attribution of success or failure, desire for challenge in academic settings, perceived self-competence in school settings, and locus of…

This article reports on a classroom-based case study of a group of six Year 10 students, within a class of 23 students. The study implemented constructivist-informed teaching and learning approaches within a classroom setting in the topic of optics and documented any changes in the conceptual understanding students had about seven central concepts…

In April 2002, Jeffrey Fouts (2002) presented a longitudinal study of student performance in Washington using Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) results from 1998 to 2001. Although constrained by the lack of individual student identification numbers at that time, he concluded that success on the WASL in the 4th grade was a strong…

A study of 50 students (grade 9) enrolled in a computer course found that home computer access for females was a predictor of early success for using computers as a learning resource and that enrollment in a computer course was greater for females who had access to home computers. Initial advantages diminished with continued use of computers. (PEN)

This investigation examined students attending U.S. and Canadian visual and performing arts secondary schools for distinguishing personality characteristics, locus of control, acceptance of talents, labeling, family dynamics, anxiety levels, perceived personal and school problems, and views of peers, artists/teachers, and counselors. One hundred…

This practicum was designed to develop and implement innovative strategies to improve home/school communication and to increase family involvement of hard-to-reach parents in an effort to cultivate healthy home/school relationships and an open and friendly school climate resulting in a more effective high school. The writer established an advisory…

In this evaluation of the effectiveness of a developmental, individualized reading program in grades six, eight, nine, and eleven, emphasis was placed on diagnostic and prescriptive procedures within a laboratory setting. Interaction between students and teacher-counselors was on a one-to-one basis. The nine-week program included pretesting,…

This study examines correlations between the Metropolitan Achievement Tests, seventh edition (MAT-7), and analogous portions of the 1995 Ohio Ninth-Grade Proficiency Tests. The MAT-7 scores of 156 eighth-grade students who had completed both test batteries were paired with complementary sections of the Proficiency test. Correlations between the…