This report provides results of a Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics for the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The OCR wanted input for their decision-making process on possible modifications to their biennial survey of a national sample of public school districts (PSDs). The survey, the…

Covering a wide variety of issues of concern to educators, the papers compiled in this proceedings report present graduate student research on writing instruction, mathematics instruction, cooperative learning groups, a follow-up program to Project Head Start, relationships between language and music, and the self-concept of gifted children. The…

Selected program evaluations through the GENeric Evaluation SYStem (GENESYS) of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District are reviewed. GENESYS, implemented in 1988-89, consists basically of a database methodology assessing the school system's longitudinal databases and a set of computer programs using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) to…

This collection consists of 11 conference papers on issues pertaining to education of talented and gifted children; 6 are from "general interest" sessions and 5 are from "special interest" sessions. The general interest papers are primarily theoretical in focus. Titles include: Julian C. Stanley's "Finding Intellectually…

In the second year of a project investigating the ability of secondary school teachers to identify high-ability students, two questions were addressed: what student characteristics influenced teachers' judgments, and why checklists appeared to have little impact on teachers' judgments. A structured approach was developed to study student…

The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Fairfax County, Virginia) offers a comprehensive college preparatory program emphasizing the sciences, mathematics, and technology. The school serves students selected on the basis of aptitude and interest in the biological, physical, mathematical, and computer sciences, and who intend…

This descriptive, longitudinal study investigated the emergent literacy skills of 45 children 4 and 5 years of age who were enrolled in an enrichment program for the gifted and talented. In two 10-week sessions conducted in subsequent years, children were requested to write a story and then read it aloud. Of central interest were four questions:…

The Richmond Area Young Scholars program, designed for a target population of rising seventh grade black students in the Richmond, Virginia area, emphasizes mathematics and physics. Honors topics instruction will be provided by faculty of the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and by pre-college faculty who are members of the Mathematics…

A joint statement by 27 scholars, educators, and policymakers focuses on the question of character development in American education, as well as the general need to sustain the momentum of reform brought about by numerous national reports on education. Following an executive summary which presents a rationale for the statement, material is divided…

A "cultural and informational exchange" between two Maryland middle schools allowed two groups of gifted students to accomplish several learning objectives while discovering new regions of their state and nurturing new acquaintances. Computers were central to the program--all information was created using word processing programs, and…

Low cost or no cost ideas for programs in smaller rural schools are listed. Areas covered include public relations, special programs and curriculum. Based on the experience of a small school district in Elizabeth, Illinois, these ideas include the school's relationship to students, faculty and the community; extracurricular activities relating to…

Many current studies have discovered that students tend to use either an Aristotelian or the Medieval impetus model rather than the Newtonian view in order to explain their experience. This preconceived knowledge may be important for students in learning mechanics. The purpose of this study was to identify and confirm the existence of a…

Recognizing the importance of strong working relationships with local high schools, Triton College (Illinois) has recently developed a series of initiatives which provide an ongoing avenue for students to experience Triton's programs and services while still in high school and thereby facilitate continuity of learning. One group of programs,…

During 1985-86 the School Community Education Program (also known as the Umbrella Program), funded by the New York State Legislature, provided a variety of educational and training experiences to some 25,871 participants, including pre-kindergarten children and their parents; and students, teachers, and supervisors from kindergarten through grade…

Gifted students' writing may exhibit stylistic dissonance--a mixture of basic writing features may coexist with features indicative of much higher levels of rhetorical control. A case study of an 11-year-old sixth grade student who attended a freshman composition course at an Arkansas university illustrates this dissonance. The poems and short…