The relationship of diverse instructional materials with student performance indicators is studied in a statewide evaluation of educational reform. Observation and teacher survey data were collected, and students were tested in reading, mathematics, and attitudinal areas. Significant performance decrements were associated with the use of diverse…

In an attempt to resolve conflicting conclusions arising from an investigation of the validity of the claimed psychological properties of Bloom's taxonomy, the LISREL method was applied to the data of Kropp and Stoker. The simplex assumption was supported when the knowledge category is deleted from the taxonomy. (Author/RL)

College students evaluated teaching effectiveness at the end of course and one year after graduation. Results showed variance attributable to the specific instructor was much larger than that due either to course level or course type for both end-of-term and follow-up ratings, and the effects were stable. (Author/RL)

Results indicated that the average reading comprehension score of children whose parents immigrated from developing countries is above the range of the national averages of the developing countries. The level achieved by both groups is within the range of achievement attained in developed countries internationally. (Author/RL)

A study examined anxiety and its effects on the notetaking behavior and subsequent test performance of 87 high school students. Alpert and Haber's Achievement Anxiety Test was used to classify students as to level of facilitative or debilitative anxiety before treatment. Results showed that anxiety was not necessarily detrimental to performance.…

Metalinguistic knowledge and its antecedents were studied in an investigation of performance- and reflective-based knowledge in 27 young children. Piagetian assessment tasks were used to determine cognitive functioning level, and then the children were tested as to knowledge of words' structural and significative features. Results support an…

Relationship between reader preference and protagonist characteristics, specifically sex and age of main characters, was examined. The study asked 2,487 male and 2,366 female students in grades 4 through 10 to rate the degree of importance of protagonist characteristics. (Author/JMK)

To manipulate analytic and holistic thinking and their effects in learning, a study used visual and verbal processing modes combined with analytic and holistic learning strategies. Results showed that analytic information processing habits in college students may facilitate learning. (Author/JMK)

This study evaluates an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IV educational improvement project, conducted in elementary and secondary schools, concerning the political system and citizenship. The project model, focusing on teachers as change agents receiving support channeled from other parts of the system, was found effective at both…

A follow-up investigation, conducted 5 years later, of previous research concerning relations between family environment and cognitive performance of 11-year-old Australian children of different ethnic backgrounds, was conducted. Hierarchical regression analyses, using earlier data, showed that parental influences are the strongest factor…

Two common strategies for assessing writing techniques and objective techniques are compared in a study of third-grade students. Student performance on selected response and constructed response test items, measuring the identification and construction of complete sentences, is compared. Results suggest that selected response items may lack…

Relationships among student achievement, class size, and mode of instruction were investigated using 225 fourth-grade students. Students were randomly assigned to teacher-led or seatwork assignments in groups of either one, three, five, or six, and results showed seatwork impervious to group size effects, while achievement varied. (Author/JMK)

Second grade students'"think-alouds" were analyzed to investigate whether children used different reading stategies to comprehend targeted story grammar categories in two basal reader narratives. Results indicate that the proportion of elaborative and nonelaborative strategies used by children differed as a function of category type. (Author/JMK)

Recent meta-analyses and other studies of media's influence on learning are reviewed. Consistent evidence is found for the generalization that there are no learning benefits to be gained from employing any specific medium to deliver instruction. Problems and suggestions concerning current media attribute and symbol system theories are described.…

This review found that providing reading and study-skill instruction in the social studies curriculum can raise achievement scores in both reading and social studies to higher levels than what pupils would achieve without instruction. In those treatments that were successful, teachers played an important role. (Author/PN)