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The longitudinal child development study involved a cohort of 1008 infants, born in 1966 and constituted as a non-random sample in order to include a substantial number of biological risk cases. Simultaneously considered were perinatal biological and social adversity and measures of attainment in three domains (physical, motoric, and cognitive) at the end of the preschool years. Experimental subjects were divided into one of four biological risk groups, based upon whether they had experienced disorders of pregnancy and gestation, disorders of delivery, neonatal disorders, or multiple complications. Subjects were tested at 36, 42, 48, and 54 months for motoric skills, cognitive skills, and physical height and weight. The effects of prenatal, perinatal, neonatal, and multiple complications, and social class in the three domains evaluated at the different ages were summarized in 45 tables. Discussion gave attention to the nature of the deficits present at age 4 years. (KW)

The report was explained to be one in a series of products designed to provide an inferential base for planning instructional strategies. Considered were biological and socially adverse states around birth and measures of attainment in three domains at the end of the preschool years. Early child development was first reviewed. The preschoolers examined were the 1966 cohort of 1008 infants who were 50% biological risk and 50% nonrisk. Criteria for selection of experimental subjects were disorders of pregnancy and gestation, delivery, neonatal effects, and any combination of these. It was hypothesized that the four categories of early developmental risk and social class were significant influences on child growth as measured in physical, motor, and cognitive domains at four ages of 36, 42, 48, and 54 months. The statistical model employed was multiple linear regression. Regressive models of development were compared. Predictors and criteria for each of the four ages were reported. The models were found to vary considerably in their capacity to account for criterion variance. Results showed that at 36 months, consideration of the three domains of development indicated that cognitive attainment was most predictable, and that at the later ages, social class was usually more influential than biological risks on cognitive attainment. (CB)

This study reports an attempt to explore within a heterogeneous population the pattern of influence which selected maternal traits exert on internal locus of control at age 5 years. Information on the relevant variables was retrieved from the computer-based data bank of the St. Louis Baby Study. The maternal traits used for prediction included the mother's age, a measure of authoritarianism, race, IQ, level of education, a measure of anxiety, and a measure of the stimulation value of the home. Locus of control scores were available for the 77 children involved. A special multiple regression analysis (Automatic Interaction Detector, AID) was used. A brief discussion of the substantive results is followed by an extended discussion of the AID analysis. (ST)

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of significant influences on the cognitive readiness of a group of children, aged 60 to 66 months. All measures were obtained by prospective study, which began with Apgar scores calculated in the delivery room. Subsequent measures were gathered by individual case studies in homes, with children and examiners matched by race. Tests used were the Preschool Attainment Record, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Results of data analysis suggest that readiness considered as cognitive maturity has two contradictory aspects: (1) it is demonstrably influenced by identifiable elements in the preschool years, (2) the degree of influence exerted by identified influences is less than that exerted by unidentified influences. To some extent, all three predictor domains: child, maternal, and environmental data, have a role in shaping readiness. Social class appears to have the greatest influence. (ST)

"Sesame Street" is a television program aimed at stimulating young viewers. This study, a part of the Early Developmental Adversity Program, attempts to discover what demographic characteristics are associated with children who view or do not view "Sesame Street." The subjects of the study were 69 3-year-old children. Black and white, as well as middle class and lower class children, were represented in the sample. The data generated by this study indicate that "Sesame Street" is watched by a disproportionately small number of black children. For every black child watching there are four or five who do not, while among whites there is an even split between watchers and nonwatchers. A predictably similar pattern of results is found when watchers and nonwatchers are compared on the basis of socioeconomic status. A significantly smaller percentage of lower class children than middle class children watch the program. Thus, viewers already belong to the group most prepared for school, while nonviewers are those who most need the possibly beneficial effects of "Sesame Street." (MH)

For 31 Texas public junior colleges, this study analyzed revenues, expenditures, and ability to support a stratified program according to enrollment, and explored the relationships among size, cost, and selected educational opportunities. Data were collected from questionnaires, professional literature, documents of the Texas Education Agency, and interviews. Standard statistical techniques were used for the various calculations and analyses. There were six principal findings: (1) the research conducted on Texas public junior college financing included studies on per-student costs and on budgetary practices leading to a uniform accounting system, and one work on the interrelationships of size, cost, and other factors in the educational program; (2) the state appropriations program encouraged the small college, since, as the size of the college increased, the state allocations for operating expenses decreased; (3) there was n" statistically significant relationship between the size of enrollment and the operational cost per student; (4) the breadth of program offered by the larger colleges was a depressant on the relationship between size and cost; (5) the colleges with enrollments of 1,075 to 2,459 FTSE operated more efficiently and offered more educational opportunities than the smaller ones; and (6) the colleges with enrollments under 414 FTSE operated uneconomically and offered the fewest educational opportunities. (HH)

THE CONCEPTUAL AND EMPIRICAL STATUS OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION WAS EVALUATED WITH RESPECT TO ESTABLISHING AN OBJECTIVE, QUANTIFIED, PREDICTIVE MEASURE OF SCHOOL PERFORMANCE FOR MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN. COMPARATIVE ANALYSES WERE MADE AMONG 3 SUBJECT SAMPLES--(1) A CONTROL GROUP OF 60 NORMAL CHILDREN, (2) AN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP OF 42 MENTAL RETARDATES, NOT IN SPECIAL CLASSES, AND (3) A SECOND EXPERIMENTAL GROUP OF 47 RETARDATES ENROLLED IN SPECIAL CLASSES. THE MEAN AGES OF THE GROUPS RANGED BETWEEN 15 AND 16 YEARS. MEASURES OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION, DERIVED FROM PROJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS IN INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS, AND MEASURES OF INTELLIGENCE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE WERE OBTAINED AND ANALYZED. FINDINGS SHOWED THAT ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATIONAL MEASURES WERE NOT READILY APPLICABLE TO THE PREDICTION OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, EVEN WHEN CORRELATED WITH AN INTELLIGENCE MEASURE. RECOMMENDATIONS CALL FOR FUTHER RESEARCH ON THE FACTORS OF STUDENT BEHAVIOR, CHILD-REARING PRACTICES, AND STUDENT PERSONALITY RELATIONSHIPS AS EACH MIGHT RELATE TO SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT. (JH)

Reported are some methodological and substantive findings on the Early Developmental Adversity Program, a prospective longitudinal study of the contribution of biological and social factors to later learning problems in elementary school. (KW)

Suggested to keep pace with social and educational change are special education (SE) innovations that include addition of epidemiologic to psychometric retardation models, studies on the ecology of early retardation and abnormal development, SE planning based on a larger population unit, and an integrated SE configuration. (Author/MC)