Students make errors in mathematics for a variety of reasons. It is the job of the educator to identify the source of these errors and to assist students in correcting them. The purpose of this monograph is to help identify, analyze, and evaluate students' computational proficiency. This monograph is divided into four sections: "Whole Numbers";…

This paper examines the degree of superintendent turnover in Nebraska, a state dominated by rural school districts. It also lists the causes of turnover as reported by short-term superintendents. This study finds that turnover is higher in the subject rural districts than the national average. Superintendents report that they leave these rural…

Findings of an evaluation of the first 5 years of a longitudinal program designed to enhance children's prosocial development are reported. The program was offered for children in three elmentary schools in a suburban, middle-class district near San Francisco. Three schools in the same district served as a comparison group. Enrollment ranged from…

Effective schools provide at-risk students with a community of support that encourages school membership and educational engagement. This study describes effective dropout prevention programs, develops a generalizable, theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between at-risk students and their schools, and suggests local and state…

Guided by a vision of an ideal educational system that is dedicated to the cultivation of a democratic citizenry, this monograph explores a number of questions about the growth and recent transformation of American junior colleges from liberal arts transfer institutions to providers of terminal vocational training. Chapter 1 examines the role of…

In response to the urgent national need to revitalize mathematics and science education, the National Research Council (NRC) has undertaken an examination of mathematics education from kindergarten through graduate study. Major studies are being conducted for the NRC, and this book, as a public preface to the work, outlines the seriousness of the…

A study focused on the effects of the Writing to Read program piloted at kindergarten and first grade levels in Community Consolidated School District 65. The report included measures of students' writing, performance on district-made and standardized reading tests, and a follow-up on second graders. Statistical techniques of group comparison and…

This paper presents a classification system that assigns each of the 85,131 public elementary and secondary schools in the United States to one of seven locale settings. The seven mutually exclusive locale designations are: (1) large city; (2) mid-size city; (3) urban fringe of large city; (4) urban fringe of mid-size city; (5) large town; (6)…

The purpose of this book is to make it possible for measurement specialists to solve practical testing problems through the use of item response theory (IRT). The topics, organization, and presentation are those used in a 4-week seminar held each summer for the past several years. The material is organized to facilitate understanding; all related…

A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of predictable stories given to children from low-income families over a two-year period. Phase one subjects were all the children (N=52) from four Headstart classes; phase two subjects were all the children who had participated in phase 1 and who entered kindergarten after their last year in Headstart.…

Drawing on an array of research on the nature and development of reading proficiency, this book argues that educators need not remain trapped in the phonics versus teaching-for-meaning dilemma and offers instructional alternatives. The book proposes that phonics can work together with the whole language approach to reading and provides an…

This document provides an overview of the concept of mentoring, this time applied to the area of dropout prevention. It begins by describing the functions and characteristics of a mentor, considering the use of mentors with at-risk youth, and examining the roles of a mentor in dropout prevention. Suggestions are given for setting up a mentoring…

The paper describes the Writing to Read instructional system and its implementation in five Albuquerque (New Mexico) public schools with kindergarten, first grade, and special education students. The Writing to Read System is a multisensory, multimedia literacy program and involves five types of materials: a computer-based instructional program;…

This report evaluates the Writing to Read (WTR) program instituted in 1988 in 13 West Virginia elementary schools as the result of a partnership between the IBM Corporation and the federal Appalachian Regional Commission. The WTR labs, also installed in 42 Kentucky and Virginia schools, use a computer-based instructional system to develop the…

A study examined the effectiveness of a pilot Reading Recovery (RR) program. Guidelines for the project were set forth in a joint proposal by the Portland Public Schools and Portland State University. Subjects, 40 first grade students enrolled in the Portland Public School system and identified as at-risk, were given instruction equivalent to…