The National Education Longitudinal Studies (NELS) program is a long-term effort that now encompasses the educational experience of youth from three decades, the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The NELS program studies the educational, vocational, and personal development of students at various grade levels, and the personal, familial, social,…

A College Board-sponsored survey of a nationally representative sample of takers of the 1995-96 SAT I: Reasoning Test yielded a database for more than 4,000 examinees, about 500 of whom had attended formal coaching programs outside their schools. Several alternative analytical methods were used to estimate the effects of coaching on SAT scores.…

The SAT is designed to measure the verbal and math reasoning abilities of high school juniors and seniors. These abilities develop over a long period of time and are independent of a particular school curriculum. The performance of seventh and eighth graders on the SAT is amazing, especially when considering their age. Although these students do,…

Examines the relationship between living environment and educational progress in a longitudinal study of 686 college students. Findings confirmed demographic differences and higher graduation rate; but an independent effect of residence hall living on educational progress was not confirmed. Transfer influences were also evaluated. (Author/JAC)

Investigated the existence and nature of differences among students' levels of satisfaction with college and their attitudes about future employment. The examination of responses from a national sample of students enrolled in five types of college majors established sex as an important moderating variable. (Author)

Extent of agreement between retrospective and prospective measures of variables in 7 content domains (residence change, anthropometrics, injuries, reading ability, family characteristics, behavior problems, and delinquency) was studied for 1,037 New Zealand adolescents. Absolute agreement among measures was poor, suggesting caution when using…

Special issue articles discuss the following aspects of the Health and Retirement Study: retirement measures, health measures, family structure and transfer, economic status, racial and ethnic differences, transfer behavior, race and education differences in disability and labor force status, evaluation of the subjective probabilities of survival,…

Summarizes the conduct and results of the Seattle Longitudinal Study, an investigation that has assessed mental abilities in more than 5,000 adults and has followed some for as long as 35 years. Integrative findings are presented on age changes, cohort differences, factor structure, individual differences, and interventions. (SLD)

Personality characteristics of different generations are discussed as they may affect suicide. Suicide data for 1968-91 are presented for "Boomers" (born 1943-60) and for Americans called "13ers" (13th generation of Americans; born 1961-81). Results indicate that both cohorts are at greater risk than earlier generations, with…

Ninth grade students of limited English proficiency (SLEP) in Hawaii were studied to determine their characteristics on Hawaii Test of Essential Competencies (HSTEC), how they compare to norm on test, and degree to which performance on HSTEC can be predicted. Results indicate that SLEP students can be considered separate population within total…

Using data from the High School and Beyond survey for 10,188 sophomores and 8,491 seniors, investigates the effect of spacing of births of siblings on high school attrition and postsecondary school attendance. Close spacing increases likelihood of dropping out of high school and decreases odds of attending postsecondary school. (SLD)

Examined television viewing over three years among two cohorts of 2- and 4-year olds. Found that viewing declined with age. With age, time in reading and educational activities increased on weekdays but declined on weekends, and sex differences in time-use patterns increased. Increased time in educational activities, social interaction, and video…

This longitudinal study conducted at the University of Virginia examined preservice teachers' changes in computer anxiety; perceived usefulness of computer technology; frequency of using word processing, email, spreadsheets, database management, statistical packages, and CD-ROM databases; and perceived self-efficacy. Discusses time effect and…

Follows up an earlier age cohort study done in the 1980s. Discovered that, although differences in achievement related to gender and socioeconomic factors remained consistent and generally increased over time, greater change was found in patterns of ethnic differences. Discusses possible explanations for the findings and implications for…

Uses Transfer Consortium data to track the academic path of a transfer cohort from Macomb Community College (MCC) in Michigan to five local four-year institutions. Finds that most transfers from a community college did not earn an associate's degree and that the average ASSET scores of the cohort are higher than the mean score for everyone tested…