Our civilization depends in great measure on the reading process and there is a need for attaining greater skill in reading. Being able to read well has become one criteria for measuring the extent of a person's education. Every year seems to increase the reading demands made upon students as well as adults. Reading was one of the three R's that made up the curriculum of the early schools in our country.

Purpose . The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of the impact of grade-level retention on students who experienced retention the first time during 7 th or 8 th grade and who continued with their education into their 10 th -grade, 11 th -grade, or 12 th -grade year. Procedure . Ten high school students in grades ten, eleven, or twelve participated in this phenomenological study. Each of the participants experienced grade-level retention for the first time during their seventh or eighth grade year. At the time of the interviews, each student was earning the necessary credits to be on target to graduate from high school. Qualitative methods were employed to allow an in-depth exploration of each participant's experience. Tape-recorded interviews were conducted. Interview questions addressed five general areas: (a) student reflections regarding middle school; (b) student reflections on their high school experience; (c) student perceptions on the impact of their grade level retention; (d) student perceptions of the effectiveness of grade-level retention, especially at the middle school level; and (e) factors that contributed to each student's academic resilience. Standardized open-ended interview questions minimized variation in the questions posed to participants. Follow-up and probing questions allowed further exploration into each participant's descriptions and reflections. Findings . Participants in this study perceived that their academic success in high school stemmed from their grade-level retention experience. Students recognized a lack of maturity, poor attendance, and an inability to focus their attention on academics, rather than the social aspects of school, as factors that contributed to their retention. Evidence presented in this study suggests that students can experience academic resilience after experiencing grade retention. Self-determination was the single most obvious theme dominating student perceptions of factors that contributed to their academic resilience. Students perceived that they had some degree of control over their academic destiny; each student reflected that a lack of commitment to school, or laziness contributed to their failure. Thus, each student perceived an ability to overcome failure through a commitment to complete work, focus on school, and improved attendance.

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The investigator undertook to make an analytical study of boys in the sixth and seventh grades in the Trinity Heights Elementary School of Dallas, Texas, who tend to be non-participants in playground activities and, on the basis of the study, to draw implications for the future guidance of such boys in group participation in such activities.

The problem in this study is to show the possible relationship between improved physical skills and the total adjustment of boys at the junior high school level. A limited number of boys selected from the seventh and eighth grades who were without adequate physical skills were given special assistance for improving such skills, and a record was kept of the procedure and possible results of this instructional program.

It is the primary purpose of this study to determine any differences in the achievement abilities and teacher ratings of the boys and girls of equal intelligence quotients in the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades of the Alvord Elementary School, Alvord, Texas. A secondary purpose is to make a study of the environmental background of a number of pupils in order to determine certain other factors that might be considered as producing some influence upon the success or failure of the boy or girl.

To try to determine what the interests of boys and girls in the seventh grade are and how these interests are used in their school work, or are not used, is the purpose of this study.

This experimental study examined the effects of word processing on revision and writing quality of expository compositions produced by seventh—graders. Thirty—six students in two accelerated English classes served as subjects. Prior to the experimental period, all students completed a handwritten composition (pretest) and received identical instruction in (a) composing and revising and (b) using a word processor. One intact class was randomly assigned as the experimental group. During the six-week treatment period all students wrote six compositions (three drafts per composition). The experimental group completed all composing and revising on the computer and the control group completed their compositions with pen and paper. Posttest l (produced on computer in the experimental group and by hand in the control group) and posttest 2 (handwritten in both groups) were analyzed for the frequency and types of revisions made between first and second drafts. The pretest and three posttests were analyzed for writing quality of final drafts. There were no significant differences: (a) between groups in the number of revisions in posttest l (computer written by experimental subjects and handwritten by control subjects), (b) in percentage of high—level revisions made with and without the word processor, and (c) in quality of compositions produced with and without the computer. There was a significant difference between groups in the number of revisions in handwritten compositions (posttest 2) produced by both groups after the treatment; the word processing group revised more frequently than did the group not exposed to six weeks of word processing. The experimental subjects also significantly increased in frequency of revisions from the time of posttest l (computer written) to posttest 2 (handwritten). A significant difference across time in writing quality scores was found. The findings suggested that students who compose and revise on computer can make substantially more revisions when they resume pen and paper composing and revising; however, use of the word processor does not differentially affect types of revisions attempted or writing quality. Word processors increase motivation, and adequate systems may increase the ability to detect and eliminate textual problems. Recommendations for research, theory, and instruction are discussed. / Ed. D.