The effects of sociometric (based on student choice) and nonsociometric grouping on the social acceptance and small group interaction were studied using data from 102 third graders in five classrooms. Sociometric grouping procedures had a positive effect on social acceptance and did affect the number and types of verbal interactions. (SLD)

Literature on the use of true-false examination questions is reviewed, and it is concluded that such questions can be written to measure the range of cognitive outcomes efficiently. However, except among professional test developers, this does not usually happen. Research does not clarify whether the answer lies in better teacher training or in…

A poll of 1,933 voters in two counties that passed school bonds and two that did not examines voter perceptions toward school bonds. The factors linked to passage were that the number of students was growing, that most students would benefit, and that the dollar amount of the bond issue was reasonable. (SLD)

The type of professional community found within a school and its consequences for teachers' sense of responsibility for student learning were studied at 24 elementary, middle, and secondary schools through questionnaires completed by 910 teachers and interviews with 144. Results suggest wide variation in professional community among schools. (SLD)

The effectiveness of a conflict resolution program was examined in a rural public elementary school in Ontario (Canada). Results with 111 seventh and eighth graders support the effectiveness of the conflict resolution training and indicate that the training generally had more effect in a cooperative learning condition. (SLD)

How Spanish-speaking children spell English words was studied with 38 Spanish-speaking and 34 English-speaking second and third graders. Spanish-speaking students produced more errors that were consistent with the correct application of Spanish phonological and orthographical rules (predicted errors). Implications for bilingual education are…

Strategies used by upper secondary school students to regulate their own learning processes were studied for 248 Australian students, 215 Japanese students in Japan, and 30 Japanese students in Australia. The pattern of strategy used varied for each cultural group, with Japanese students using memory strategies significantly more often. (SLD)

Relationships among teachers' task environments, school organizational climates, and teachers' professional and organizational commitments were examined using data from the Schools and Staffing Survey for 14,844 secondary school teachers. Results suggest that commitment is associated with school climate. (SLD)

Factors that might influence the editorial process of peer review of articles are explored. These include the willingness of reviewers to perform the review, uninformed reviews, ideological or political bias, ethical conflicts of interest, and mistaken views of fairness. Awareness of these factors can help ensure article quality. (SLD)

The effects of within-class grouping on student achievement and other outcomes were quantitatively integrated using one set of 145 effect sizes exploring grouping versus no grouping and a set of 20 effect sizes related to homogeneous versus heterogeneous ability grouping. Overall, results favored homogeneous grouping. (SLD)

A review of studies of conflict and conflict resolution training in schools finds evidence suggesting that untrained students often use strategies with destructive outcomes. After training, outcomes of conflict are more likely to be constructive and students are more able to resolve their own conflicts. (SLD)

A review of various models of the relationship between research and teaching in universities is presented, and the evidence necessary to assess each model is outlined. A meta analysis of 59 studies demonstrates that the relationship is zero. Suggestions are provided for future directions. (Author/SLD)

The contribution made by the self-efficacy component of A. Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory to the study of self-regulation and motivation in academic settings was studied. Findings demonstrate that particularized measures of self-efficacy that correspond to critical tasks surpass global measures in outcome explanation and prediction. (SLD)

Meta-analytic techniques were used to summarize the statistical robustness literature on Type I error properties of alternatives to the one-way analysis of variance "F" test. The James (1951) and Welch (1951) tests performed best under violations of the variance homogeneity assumption, although their use is not always appropriate. (SLD)

A re-engineering of the educational system is proposed that focuses on mastery and more substantial learning activities and eliminates the constraints to learning that arise from the current insistence on grouping children by age. It is argued that eliminating age-based grouping has advantages that outweigh social disadvantage. (SLD)