A brief sketch is presented of the assessment strategies of the College Board in two unique programs, EQUITY 2000 and Pacesetter, both works in progress that attempt to meet the challenges of the new era of equity and excellence in education. EQUITY 2000, launched in 1990, is a multi-faceted approach to closing the gap between college-going rates…

The National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72) is the "grandmother" of the longitudinal studies designed and conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, and is probably the richest archive ever assembled on a generation of Americans. Participants were selected as high school seniors in 1972 and…

An explanation of why Asian American students perform better than others in school may lie in the nature of the learning programs they receive at home. The purpose of this paper is to define such programs that account for most of the differences in academic achievement among racial/ethnic groups. Data were used from the National Education…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has measured students' progress toward higher achievement since 1969, assessing students in public and nonpublic schools in various subject areas on a regular basis. The NAEP has also collected background information about students to provide a context for interpreting assessment results and…

A study was done to compare Asian American and Anglo American students' attitudes toward motivation, learning environment, academic self-concept, involvement, affiliation, and parent involvement in the learning of mathematics. Survey data of 1,200 Asian- and 1,200 Anglo-American middle school students were collected. A stratified sampling…

Statewide information concerning the Connecticut eight-grade public school students who particpated in the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) in the spring of 1988 is presented. Over 900 students in 46 schools in 35 school districts, almost evenly divided between males and females, completed cognitive tests and student surveys about…

Test-taking differences between the sexes on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) were studied to determine if girls and boys, both white and African American, had different problem-solving styles that affected their ability to respond correctly on the test. Two studies are described. The first study, "An Investigation of the Performance…

To conduct a national assessment of the educational needs of smaller schools in the 48 contiguous states, the National Center for Smaller Schools surveyed 951 schools in 17 states within 5 geographic regions during the fall of 1981. The superintendent, one principal, and three teachers in each sample school district completed a questionnaire…

This report presents social and economic characteristics of the population below the poverty level in 1986 based on the March 1987 Current Population Survey. Among the highlights are the following: (1) the number of persons below the poverty level was 32.4 million; (2) the poverty rate was 13.6 percent; (3) Whites represented 69 percent of the…

This report to Mayor Edward Koch examines the problems facing New York, New York, and suggests long-range solutions. Information was gathered from experts from within and outside city government, invitational hearings, and commissioned studies in areas of special concern. The Commission found that the city's economy had recovered from the fiscal…

This document is the first volume of a two-volume study that explores the gender and racial/ethnic factors contributing to differential participation and performance in mathematics by elementary and secondary school students in the Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland). This first volume contains an introduction and three major sections.…

Although the vast majority of single mothers do not fit the description of an underclass, there is a small group of predominantly black single mothers concentrated in northern urban ghettos that is persistently weakly attached to the labor force, socially isolated, and reproducing itself. Although welfare programs are necessary for those who are…

A study compared the economic and noneconomic effects of various combinations of high school curriculum and postsecondary school-to-work transition patterns. Data for the study were obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience, Youth Cohort (NLS Youth). In some cases, the 1979 data from the high school class of 1972…

Research was conducted to re-emphasize the importance of functional differences among jobs by showing how they help to better explain the income and status differences that are the main concern of recent stratification research. Status attainment, social class, and vocational psychological approaches to occupational and social differences were…

Data on the sex, ethnicity, age, and geographic origin of undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students enrolled in New Jersey colleges and universities in fall 1980 are given, along with comparisons and trends over the past five years. Increases in the enrollment of women in New Jersey higher education between 1976 and 1980 occurred among…