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AN EXPERIMENT WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SUCH VARIABLES AS TYPE OF MATERIAL, NUMBER OF RELEVANT ATTRIBUTES, AND PERFORMANCE OF A PERSON ATTAINING CONCEPTS. CONCEPT ATTAINMENT BOARDS OF THE BRUNER (1956) TYPE WERE USED, AND VARIOUS PARAMETERS CONTAINED IN THE BOARDS WERE MANIPULATED. THE NUMBER OF RELEVANT AND IRRELEVANT ATTRIBUTES IN A CONCEPT WAS VARIED. INSTRUCTION, THE TYPE OF PROBLEM, PROBLEM ORDER, AND THE TYPE OF BOARD (FIGURAL OR VERBAL) WERE ALSO TREATED AS VARIABLES. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE TASK WERE EITHER GIVEN TO THE 64 FEMALE AND 48 MALE SUBJECTS BY A TAPE RECORDING OR FROM A BOOKLET. FOUR DISTINCT SEQUENCES OF CONCEPTS WERE DEVELOPED AND EACH SEQUENCE WAS USED WITH SIX MALES AND EIGHT FEMALES. THE DEPENDENT VARIABLES WERE TIME-TO-CRITERION AND NUMBER OF CARD CHOICES. RESULTS FROM THE VERBAL CONCEPTS SHOWED THAT SEX, INSTRUCTIONS, AND CONCEPT ORDER HAD NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT. THE J-2 CONCEPTS (COMBINATIONS OF TWO) WERE EASIER THAN THE J-3, (COMBINATIONS OF THREE) AND RECEPTION CONCEPTS WERE EASIER THAN SELECTION CONCEPTS. ON THE TWO TRAINING CONCEPTS, THE J-3 CONCEPT WAS EASIER THAN THE J-2 BOTH IN TERMS OF TIME AND NUMBER OF CARD CHOICES. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT UNUSUAL RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE FIGURAL BOARD CONCEPT WERE DUE TO THE SALIENCE LEVELS OF THE ATTRIBUTES. IT WAS FURTHER HYPOTHESIZED THAT ANY ANALYSIS OF CONCEPT MUST CONSIDER NUMBER OF RELEVANT AND IRRELEVANT ATTRIBUTES AND THE SALIENCE LEVEL. (JC)

The first paper in this series, "Problems in the Econometric Analysis of Educational Technology," by Fredrick L. Golladay, examines the analogy between empirical production functions in economic research and the school characteristic study. The second paper, "Problems in Making Policy Inferences from the Coleman Report," by Glen Cain and Harold Watts, presents the theoretical bases for causally interpretable multivariate empirical research into education. The third paper, "Education and Income: A Study of Cross-Sections and Cohorts," by Robinson Hollister, summarizes research into the problems of conceptualization and the measurement of school characteristics, inputs, and outputs. The fourth paper, "Patterns of Rates of Return to Investment in Education: Some International Comparisons," by W. Lee Hansen, reviews briefly the statistical problems that emerge in school characteristic studies. The final paper, "The Search for Equity in the Provision and Finance of Higher Education," by W. Lee Hansen and Burton A. Weisbrod, summarizes the discussions and draws conclusions for the appropriate focus of research into resource allocation to and within education. Related documents are ED 057 470 and EA 004 323. (Author)

An attempt was made to measure the language behavior of students in the upper elementary grades. The procedures and results of research in the following five areas are described in this report: (1) Relationship between the Linguistic Ability Test and the written discourse of fourth and sixth graders; (2) Comparisons of the discourse of fourth and sixth graders and of males and females; (3) Analysis of the effects of color and abstractness of pictures and of the specificity of instructions used in obtaining written discourse samples; (4) Comparisons of written discourse rated good, average, and poor; and (5) Comparison of oral and written discourse. (AG)

Problems faced by American Indian college students were described in these 2 guidance and counseling papers. The first paper suggested a plan for a guidance and counseling program. The 3 steps in this plan were a special summer student orientation program for Indians; and "out-reaching" guidance and counseling program where Indian students would serve as assistant counselors; and active participation of the counselor with the student in curriculum planning. The second paper covered goals, fiscal responsibility, and academic advising. Included in the second paper was a list of courses from which a student may select a sequence to meet liberal studies requirements. (PS)

Seventy-two grade 8 students were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups. One group studied five programed lessons in structural grammar, written without use of symbols or diagrams. A second group studied the same content presented with a symbolic notation to represent the grammar concepts. A third group studied the same content except that the symbolic notation of the second group was used in figural sentence-tree diagrams. The fourth group, a control group, studied five programed lessons in how to read poetry. The students studied the lessons in their regular English classrooms over a period of 1 week. Post-tests were given 2 days and 2 weeks after the last lesson. Test results showed that all three experimental groups learned and retained more knowledge of grammar than the control group. The lessons using symbolic notation and diagrams were each superior to the verbal presentation. Low ability students did not benefit from the diagrams and only high ability students mastered the strictly verbal presentation. The symbolic notation produced significant learning at all ability levels. The experiment seemed to show that the teaching of verbal concepts is facilitated by appropriate symbols and diagrams, provided students understand these nonverbal materials. (Author/LH)

The conceptualization of the term "psycholinguistic ability" led to the definition of an area of language behavior that is not well represented in achievement tests in English nor in existing tests of verbal intelligence. Thus, the Linguistic Ability Test (LAT) was designed, pilot-tested, revised, and field-tested in an attempt to measure the skills implied by psycholinguistic ability. The field testing involved 106 fourth- and 105 sixth-grade students whose mean IQ score was 104.6 points. The LAT showed very high reliability (Hoyt internal consistency) at both grade levels. The item analysis data are presented for the entire test (148 items) as well as for the 15 subsections of the test. Mean scores at each grade level and for male and female subjects are given as well as the intercorrelations of the 15 subsections, the total test, and Otis IQ score. The future importance of the LAT is projected. The test, along with its planned revisions, is included in the report. (Author/JD)

This research furthers our understanding of the relationship between an organismic factor, "cognitive style," and performance on concept learning and information processing tasks. These results, obtained from students in grades six, eight, and 10, indicate that not only do "high analytical" type students perform better on this experimental task, but they also do better in certain school subjects. It was concluded that the Hidden Figures Test does measure level of field articulation in adolescents, and that significant differences between analytical and non-analytical subjects exist in intelligence, achievement, and information processing and concept learning abilities. (Author)

AN ASSESSMENT IS MADE OF VARIABLES THAT ENCOURAGE OR DISCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN AMERICAN SOCIETY. ONE VARIABLE IS THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF FELT NEEDS, WHICH ARE DETERMINED PARTLY BY PERSONALITY BUT FAR MORE--ESPECIALLY AMONG THE POOR--BY ENVIRONMENT. ANOTHER IS THE RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT ONE CAN IDENTIFY FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE LABOR MARKET AND IN POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES. A RELATED VARIABLE IS AN INDIVIDUAL'S REPERTOIRE OF ECONOMIC, EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS AND RESOURCES. STILL ANOTHER FACTOR IS THE DEGREE OF APPROVAL, OR LACK OF DISAPPROVAL, SHOWN BY INFLUENTIAL PERSONS TOWARD ANY GIVEN ACTIVITY. THE FINAL VARIABLE NAMED IS THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE REQUIREMENTS OF SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, OR POLITICAL UNITS ENCOURAGED OR DISCOURAGED PARTICIPATION. POLICIES AND PROGRAMS FOR INCREASING PARTICIPATION BY THE POOR MUST HAVE TWO AIMS--TO ENHANCE THE INDIVIDUAL'S ABILITY AND INCLINATION TO PARTICIPATE, AND TO MODIFY THE INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE IN ORDER TO MAKE PARTICIPATION LESS DIFFICULT. (THE DOCUMENT INCLUDES 24 FOOTNOTES.) (LY)