Among high school seniors, some of the best and brightest are reticent to write about themselves. One high school counselor designed small group guidance sessions in which students learned collaboratively to write effective and useful peer reports and personal statements. (MSE)

A group of eight educators and one law student discusses the most recent changes in the Scholastic Aptitude Test content and format, which will include a reasoning test and a battery of subject tests. Comments focus on general reactions, specific additions and deletions, test bias, implications for admissions, and coaching. (MSE)

Rapidly advancing technologies, increased international competition, and the shift to a people-driven service economy are forcing industry to work smarter and to hire smarter workers. New partnerships between schools, colleges, and business are necessary. Successful state reform movements require the active involvement of the governor and the…

Testing has almost completely lost its identity as a device to increase access to college for the underprivileged. Testing today is seen as a device to deny access. Intelligence is randomly distributed among the rich and the poor, and testing helps remove privilege as a guarantee of success and advancement. (MLW)

Competence as administrators and managers is judged in part by the quality of their writing. Twelve suggestions for improving writing are provided. A bibliography on reference books for the process of writing and a test to assess writing skills are provided. (MLW)

The grandson of athlete Jim Thorpe criticizes the college athletics system that attracts athletes with money and does not encourage then to reach their full academic potential. The late Olympian's life story is used for illustration and for comparison with today's system. (MSE)

Ursuline College (Ohio), a Catholic women's college, has redesigned its core curriculum, using a sequential set of development goals to parallel the learning patterns beneficial for women. A support system to increase retention, satisfaction, and success is integrated into the curriculum. A holistic, inclusive college experience is the objective.…

Factors contributing to the growing federal regulation of United States colleges and universities are explained, and regulation's impact in the areas of student aid, race relations, scientific research, environmental protection, and age discrimination are discussed. It is argued that a balance between institutional autonomy and accountability must…

The new Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT I) measures high-level reasoning in verbal and mathematical domains not tied to any particular instructional experiences, providing an alternative way of demonstrating scholastic ability that may not be reflected in grades. The relationship of College Board testing programs to possible national content…

College admissions staffs deal with complex, overlapping, and competing demands, including issues such as achievement of campus diversity, promoting access to education, and balancing consumer demands and educational objectives. Involving people outside the admissions office and maintaining core institutional values are suggested as ways to serve…

Development of an advanced placement examination and certification program that guarantees admission to foreign universities is discussed as a means of promoting international educational exchange and assuring comparability of academic standards. Use of American advanced placement credentials is already common in some foreign countries. (MSE)

Student aid can help increase the number of well-educated minority and disadvantaged students. The Justice Department has labeled it a price discount. The difference between a discount and an educational investment derives from whether providing aid increases or decreases net resources available to the college to spend on other purposes. (MSE)

The trend toward increasing numbers of poorly prepared, high-risk college students requires a variety of strategies, including strengthened school-college collaboration and networking, taking a holistic approach to retention, attention to the effectiveness of traditional teaching methods, and hiring faculty committed to great teaching. (MSE)

Community colleges have historically been leaders in using information technology to serve students better. Examples of new applications of technology to transform teaching systems and organization include collaborative writing projects, electronic forums, independent learning systems, and distance learning. (MSE)

The College Posse Scholarship Program is a partnership between Vanderbilt University's Peabody College (Tennessee) and a New York youth development organization. Urban high school students are selected for university attendance using nontraditional criteria. The multicultural posse works to increase diversity, create dialog among students, and…