The New York State Narcotic Addiction Control Commission undertook a survey of the state to gather information on community attitudes and knowledge of drugs and drug abuse. An extensive questionnaire (see TM 001 085) was administered to a sample of 6105 persons, representative of the state, who were 13 years old or older. The research findings and…

Data derived from heads of households (50% American Indian, 10% black and 40%white) living in a large (a 25% sample) and a small rural (a 50% sample) Louisiana community were used in conjunction with a pictorial survey of the respondents' houses to evaluate satisfaction with housing in terms of both objective and subjective housing indicators. The…

Describes responses of 35 state gifted education consultants and 76 teachers of gifted students in rural areas to survey of rural gifted programming. Finds many needs for gifted programming involving cooperative efforts, adequate funding, use of community resources, more consistent/appropriate identification methods, teacher influence, and role…

Many small, inland, and remote Australian rural communities continue to lose population and businesses, a trend that has intensified over the last 2 decades. Mean age continues to rise, while the 15-24 age group contracts dramatically. Such declining demographics are caused by the stress and uncertainty of volatile world commodity markets, as well…

This case study examines the history and current circumstances of education in Humphreys County (Mississippi) in the context of its participation in the Delta Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI), which aims to improve science and mathematics achievement through systemic reform. This report describes the county's history, demography, and economic…

Describes a study of how Chinese-American family and community behaviors, routines, values, and expectations affect the educational achievement of Chinese-American children. Finds that some traits, valuing effort over innate ability and parental involvement, do support academic achievement in association with certain social and economic…

This document is a compendium of reports prepared for presentation to each of North Carolina's 134 local school systems by the State Board of Education. Each report summarizes student performance in the system for 1989-90 in table and graph form and permits a comparison with student performance in preceding years. These reports satisfy a state…

Information on the status of Rhode Island public schools is provided in the form of educational indicators of three types: (1) education outcomes; (2) community context; and (3) policies and practices. Education outcomes are student testing and other measures of student success. Included are student results on the Metropolitan Achievement Test,…

Designed for use with sixth grade students, this multidisciplinary unit combines independent study of urban areas with activities to develop students' higher level thinking skills. Following suggestions to teachers on strategies for introducing the unit, four options for independent study are described. The first is a study of a topic related to…

Designed for 7th- and 8th-grade students, five lessons using a block of houses in an urban neighborhood help students learn about the history of a neighborhood, the owners of the houses, and the style and architectural features of the homes. Although this unit has been developed for a specific neighborhood, a similar block study could be conducted…

Readings and activities in this elementary school unit are designed to introduce students to Amish culture. Specific reference is made to the Amish communities in Iowa. Four lessons focus on the history of the Amish in the United States, Amish family life, community life, and customs (such as clothing and occupations) in modern Amish communities.…

An evaluation of the 1988 implementation of New York City's 29-day-long Summer Kindergarten program for children entering first grade with little or no kindergarten experience is presented. A total of 9,444 children were enrolled in 436 classes in 171 schools located in 32 community school districts. The program ran from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM, Monday…

The two exploratory studies presented in this research report used multilevel data obtained in the 1983-84 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) to investigate the relationship between minimum competency testing (MCT) programs and student reading proficiency. A "school effects" paradigm was used in Study 1 to assess the effect…

Participants in a symposium on education in rural New York analyzed strengths and weaknesses and made policy suggestions relating to three broad goals: (1) create parity of access to lifelong educational and cultural opportunities for residents and institutions in rural areas; (2) enhance the quality of lifelong educational and cultural…

Rural Amrica has been experiencing dramatic changes in the transition toward a socially and culturally diverse society. This study is a first effort to explore multicultural reform in rural schools. Multicultural education is the process by which the school environment is modified to accommodate cultural differences as well as to teach the role…