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Discussed are the personality and social development of children with physical handicaps, intellectual difficulties, or social and emotional disturbances, and recommended is the actual observation of the interactions of handicapped children with others in naturalistic situations. Stressed is the importance of pathological social interactions to handicaps such as schizophrenia and behavior disorders. The authors note a lack of studies of social interaction in naturalistic situations and examine methodological approaches such as the use of audio or tape and problems such as the choice of variables and interpretation of rating scales. Reviewed is research on interaction patterns in families of schizophrenic patients with findings such as the "double bind" pattern and differences in affect expression. Also reviewed are studies on the attitudes and social reactions of handicapped and normal Ss. Noted is the need for an effective test of social adaptability to aid in the diagnosis and management of mental retardation. The authors cite research on the self esteem of handicapped children with normal children is preferable to alternatives such as institutionalization. (DB)

VARIATIONS IN THE PROPERTIES OF INSTRUCTIONAL REINFORCEMENT WERE STUDIED UNDER TWO ASPECTS OF TEACHER BEHAVIOR, PUNITIVENESS AND EXPERTISE, TO IDENTIFY TECHNIQUES FOR AFFECTING OPERANT RESPONSE RATE IN A VERBAL CONDITIONING SITUATION. PUNITIVENESS AND EXPERTISE WERE MANIPULATED BY USING PREARRANGED TAPE RECORDINGS OF A SIMULATED SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS. THESE RECORDINGS WERE PRESENTED TO 160 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GROUPS OF FIVE. TWO STUDENTS FROM EACH GROUP (MALE) THEN PARTICIPATED IN INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS WITH THE TEACHER WHOSE CLASS THEY HAD HEARD. SOCIAL REINFORCEMENT WAS VARIED DURING THE INTERVIEWS. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT WAS USED IN 75 PERCENT OF THE INTERVIEWS WHERE THE TEACHER SMILED AND NODDED HIS HEAD WHEN STUDENTS MADE CERTAIN RESPONSES. IN THE REMAINING INTERVIEWS, THE TEACHER REMAINED NEUTRAL TO ALL STUDENT RESPONSES. QUESTIONNAIRES WERE ADMINISTERED AFTER BOTH THE SIMULATED CLASSROOM SESSIONS AND INTERVIEWS TO ELICIT SPECIFIED STUDENT REACTIONS. THE MAJOR FINDINGS INDICATED THAT NONPUNITIVE TEACHERS ELICITED A HIGHER OPERANT RATE UNDER THE REINFORCEMENT CONDITION AND THAT PUNITIVE TEACHERS ELICITED A HIGHER OPERANT RATE UNDER THE NEUTRAL CONDITION. EXPERTISE PRODUCED NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON THE OPERANT RATE. THE OPERANT RESPONSE RATE WAS SIMPLY THE NUMBER OF FIRST PERSON PRONOUNS EMITTED BY THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS DURING THEIR INTERVIEWS. (JH)

In an evaluation of the Self-Directed Search (SDS), a self-administered vocational counseling experience based on Holland's theory of vocational choice and his occupational classification, a total of 1,092 students in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades in four high schools were divided into three treatment groups. One group took the regular, published version of the SDS, while the second group took a version of the SDS which did not contain the "self-directed" aspects. The third group served as a control, receiving no treatment. Evaluative criteria were selected that would assess the special effects of the SDS as well as effects commonly expected from more typical vocational counseling procedures. Results revealed that both versions of the SDS were effective in increasing the number of occupations being considered, but students taking the published version were considering more appropriate occupations based on their activities, competencies, interests, and self-ratings than those who took the non-self-directed version. In addition both versions of the SDS were effective in increasing satisfaction and certainty about vocational plans, and the effectiveness of both versions was evaluated as moderately positive by the students. Sample student interest questionnaire, opinion form, and vocational guidance questionnaires are appended. (Author/SB)

Discussed is instructional planning for gifted disadvantaged children with emphasis on appropriate teaching strategies and learning activities. Noted are gifted high achievers from disadvantaged backgrounds such as Thomas Bradley, the mayor of Los Angeles. Possible organizational patterns listed include team teaching, open education, and extended school days. Stressed for programing is the development of both basic skills and higher divergent thinking skills. Strategies are suggested for the development of thinking skills such as elaborative thinking, fluent thinking, flexible thinking, and originality. Learning activities described include a mathematics unit dealing with percentage, a study of journeys, a unit on colors, career education, and a simulation game on ecology. (DB)

Ninety-six fifth-grade children--representing all combinations of male and female, low and middle socioeconomic status, and Negro and white characteristics--were arranged in pairs with peers of the same sex, economic background, and race. The pairs were observed in a two-party communication situation which involved the exchange of descriptive information in order to identify similar pictures. Results showed that middle socioeconomic class pairs were significantly more accurate in the picture identification than were the lower class pairs and that white pairs were significantly more accurate than Negro pairs. Observed differences could not be attributed to differences in IQ nor to differences in amount of verbal discussion required to complete the task. Differences between SES groups were partly attributed to the middle-class groups' ability to communicate more critical attributes about the pictures. These differences in language usage which are related to the accurate exchange of information have important implications for the design and content of language arts curricula. (Tables of results and selected references are provided.) (Author/LH)

To find out what factors are involved in a child's learning of syntax, investigators studied the syntactic complexity of the language a mother and child use when talking to each other. The complexity measure used was one developed by Dr. Sheldon Frank and Dr. Harry Osser, and is based on the concepts of generative grammar and transformations. Language samples were collected from mothers alone in an interview and mothers and children together in a play session. There were two groups of mother-child pairs: one from Harlem (black lower class) and one from Washington Square (white middle class). Analysis of the language samples indicated that all the mothers greatly reduced their syntactic complexity when talking to their children, but each mother's language was still more complex than that of her child. There was no difference between the Harlem mothers and the Washington Square mothers in their syntactic complexity in the interview, but the Harlem mother-child interactions were less complex and more didactic than those of the Washington Square group. Finally, the Harlem children seemed to articulate less clearly than the Washington Square children and their mothers had more difficulty in understanding them. There were more requests for clarification in the Harlem interactions. (MH)

This physical education program consists of teaching basic skills and the use of these skills in implementing a progressive sequence from kindergarten through ungraded primary grades. A section on games includes a description of their general purpose, directions for playing each game, and teaching suggestions. Included are 11 games to be introduced at the kindergarten level; 27 group games and 11 classroom games for the next level; 26 group games and eight classroom games for a subsequent level; and 25 group games and six classroom games for the final level. The rhythm program is divided into fundamental rhythms and singing games and dances. This section includes a list of records as well as rhythmic activities for each level. A section on stunts describes their purpose, gives teaching suggestions and recommends safety precautions. Diagrams of stunts at all developmental levels are illustrated. The final section contains a physical fitness test. The guide was planned to be used in conjunction with "Elementary School Physical Education Handbook." (DR)

To assess mother-child interaction, 23 mother-child pairs from the West Harlem ghetto (half lower class and half middle class Negroes) and from Washington Square (white middle class) were observed. Children were 3-year-old boys. Each pair spent 30 minutes in a laboratory playroom and were observed and tape-recorded. Children's nonverbal exploratory behavior was assigned to a precoded category system. Verbal behavior was grouped for frequency, form, mode, response, and manner. Although there was wide variation in verbal interaction, results indicated that the two groups did not differ in (1) mean number of total utterances, (2) ratio between the mothers' utterances and the children's (3) percentage of times mothers initiated a change in topic, (4) types of information contained in mothers' verbalizations, and (5) percentage of times they responded to or ignored their children's statements. Significant differences between the two groups were: (1) West Harlem mothers asked more questions, (2) W.H. interactions contained more requests for clarification, and (3) utterances of W.H. children contained more permanent information and W.S. children more fantasy. Washington Square mothers who ignored children were ignored by them, but children in Harlem demanded more attention when ignored. (DR)

This report describes the design, production, and evaluation of the first six lessons of a self-instructional program in standard English. The program is designed for use by fifth-grade students in Baltimore who are speakers of Baltimore non-standard Negro English. The six lessons were developed, pre-tested, revised, and evaluated in an attempt to assess the effectiveness of the program and to provide a more empirical basis for further development of instructional materials for the particular student population. A mastery test, constructed to measure the objectives of the lessons, successfully discriminated between the students receiving the programed instruction and a control group. Furthermore, the evaluation resulted in specific suggestions for program improvement. (Authors/DO)

Man seems unable to retain different information from different senses or channels simultaneously; one channel gains full attention. However, it is hypothesized that if the message elements arriving simultaneously from audio and visual channels are redundant, man will retain the information. An attempt was made to measure redundancy in the audio and visual elements and in their relationship by showing a film clipping to groups who recorded their recall. Confidence can be placed in the two following hypothoses: the recall of the visual element in a message where audio and visual elements are presented simultaneously is positively related to the visual redundancy; the recall of both audio and visual elements which are presented simultaneously in a message is positively related to the redundancy in the audio-visual relationships. The other four hypotheses, also dealing with the relationship of audio-visual element recall to redundancy, favored the hypotheses; but the results were not conclusive. These findings imply that audiences lose much television and film information. (MM)

The occurrence of the two allomorphs of the indefinite article in standard English ("a" before nouns or noun clauses beginning with consonant sounds and "an" before those beginning with vowel sounds) is a concept similar to those studied in the general concept formation paradigm. The acquisition of this grammatical concept was examined using 80 inner-city Negro fifth-graders. Results indicated that (1) learning the sound differences between instances and non-instances of the concept had no effect on subjects learning to effectively use instances of the concept orally; (2) learning to verbalize the grammatical rule which governs the concept did not facilitate concept formation; (3) training on the application of the verbalized rules strongly facilitated the acquisition of the ability to produce instances of the concept (p .001). The application training was superior to rule learning for low IQ but not for high IQ subjects. The ability to produce instances of the concept did not affect the ability to produce sentences containing instances of the concept. (Author/LH)

A void exists between the rapid growth of post-high school trade and technical education and the development of educational management tools for that area. Hoping to help fill this void, this research effort concentrated on the development of psychometric instruments useful in measuring achievements. Trade and technical areas involved in the study include electrical installation and maintenance, machinists, electronics, and data processing. The tests developed for these and other areas provide objective, reliable, and valid indices of the level of proficiency achieved by students and will provide teachers, administrators, and researchers with a tool for more effective management of their programs. Although the tests are not included in this report for security reasons, the information does include (1) detailed test specifications, (2) descriptions of the samples, (3) reliability of subtests, (4) intercorrelations of subtests, (5) correlations with other standardized measures of achievement, norms, and other psychometric data. Also for each curriculum, detailed information is presented on the test specifications, sample, and psychometric characteristics of both the experimental and final forms of the test. (Author/JS)

A type of problem-solving communication was defined in which communication accuracy was expected to be facilitated by common factors. Three tasks were developed which represented this class of communications and permitted the assessment of communication accuracy. Dyads (48) of grade 5 students--six of boys and six of girls from four population groups: Negro, white, low and middle SES--were observed performing the tasks. The accuracy scores achieved by pairs were consistent across the three tasks. The K-R 20 estimate of internal consistency was .72. Three components of accurate communication were identified: (1) orientation of one member to the other's point of view, (2) communication of essential information, (3) verification of the problem's solution. Measures for describing the adequacy of dyads' performance of these components were derived and correlated with communication accuracy. Each component correlated significantly with accuracy and the three components combined accounted for 44% of the observed variance in accuracy scores. It was also found that accuracy is related to IQ and SES, but not to sex or race. These results can be a step in identifying components which could be taught to help students communicate more accurately. (See also TE 002 138.) (Author/DD)

This report, the first of a series of three, describes a study of the structure and use of language in a defined type of communication situation. Following a review of psychological, sociological, and linguistic studies dealing with the structure of communication or the structure of discourse, a type of goal-directed (convergent) communication is defined in which consisten patterns of language use are expected to occur. The language of 48 dyads of children and 24 dyads of adults was observed in three standard convergent communication situations and used to develop a system for analyzing the verbal interaction. This sytem defines the structural units of the communications and permits a description of the behaviors, the connecting structural relationships, and the content which occur in and between utterances during the communication process. Appendices contain a manual used to instruct coders in the use of the system and the estimates of inter-judge agreement obtained with the manual. (Author/JM)

This report, the third of a series of reports dealing with convergent communication among children, compares children's performance on certain communication tasks with that of adults. (Convergent communication is defined as communication in which two persons cooperatively exchange information in order to reach an explicitly stated goal and where, because neither person has sufficient information to solve the problem alone, cooperation and a convergence of information is necessary to reach a solution.) The communications of 48 child dyads and 25 adult dyads, which were observed during the performance of three convergent communication tasks were compared on various features of communication structure and content. Compared to child dyads, adult dyads more consistently marked the organization of the communication and included more evidence of verbal cooperation and reclarification of encoded messages. Children's communications showed more variability in the inclusion of the identified structural features than did adult dyads. No differences in these features were observed in the communication of children from different socioeconomic, race, and sex subgroups. (Author/FWB)

To vicariously condition either fear or a positive emotional response, films in which a 5-year-old male model manifested one or the other response were shown to nursery school children. The measure of vicarious conditioning was the children's rate of response to the conditioned stimulus and a controlled stimulus in several operant situations after watching the film. In Experiments 1 and 2, fear responses were vicariously conditioned; after viewing the film, the children rated lower in operant responses to the fear stimulus than to the control stimulus. In Experiments 3 and 4, after viewing a positive film, the children showed a higher rate of operant response to the positive emotional stimulus than to the control stimulus. The experiments show that human operant responses can be affected by both vicarious fear conditioning and vicarious positive emotional conditioning. In all experiments the conditioning effect was short term and easily neutralized. Further research suggested includes: consideration of the age factor; use of live models rather than films; and reduction of experimenter bias, expectations, and generalization by employment of automated apparatus and maximally different test stimuli. References and appendix are included. (AJ)

This study details three methods developed during the course of an investigation for describing adult-child interaction: (1) the "VINEX" category system for coding the actual language of the adult and the child; (2) a coding system for describing nonverbal behavior; and, (3) "Interaction Language," for the use of an observer in narrating the adult-child interaction. The test materials were small samples of mother-child pairs from New York City--one from West Harlem (with a middle and lower class subsample), and the other from Washington Square (white upper middle class). The empirical findings of the study were as follows: (1) the general pattern of mother-child interaction was a responsive one--a give and take interaction which was not balanced, but at the same time not markedly one-sided; (2) changes in interaction with age appeared to be partly due to the child's cognitive development, increase of explanations, and increased grammatical complexity for example; (3) the differences between the West Harlem and the Washington Square samples, as well as the difference between the lower and middle class West Harlem sample appeared to be small; and, (4) commonly held stereotypes of the family interaction of Harlem children were not supported by any of the data of the study. Appended are manuals on the methodology developed, extensive tabulations of test results, and interview formats used. (RJ)

The purpose of this study was to describe and exemplify a model to aid schools in introducing and evaluating new instructional programs. Four basic steps are identified: selecting the curriculum goals, identifying a possible program or programs, evaluating the implementation of the program or programs, and developing and obtaining instruments for the evaluation of goals. This model was used to evaluate two biology courses to assist in making a curriculum decision. Twenty-two 10th grade classes in one high school were studied. Twelve of these classes were using Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) materials and the other ten were using a traditional text. Achievement of the students was measured using the Test on Understanding Science, the Cooperative Biology Test, and the Problem Solving Ability Test. Classroom transactions were measured using the Biology Classroom Activity Checklist and three interaction analysis systems. Lesson plans were also collected and examined. It was concluded that, as taught in this high school, the BSCS program more nearly fulfilled the goals that had been set for biology instruction. (EB)

To investigate the basic goal of the junior college as the preparation of students for future employment, especially for minority experiences, this study was conducted at three San Diego community-junior colleges. Data for the investigation were provided by graduates who answered two questionnaires: the first, after their graduation with an AA, AS, or Certificate of Proficiency in June 1968, and the second , a year later. From these two questionnaires, data concerning attitudinal shifts, job changes, and employment and persistence ratios were collected. The Chi-square test for significant differences failed to reveal any at the .05 level between minority, nonminority groups, or individual ethnic groups on: (1) rate of employment, (2) rate of employment in jobs related to the college programs completed, or (3) number of students who changed jobs during their first year of employment. Apparently, the local community's employment practices showed no evidence of differential treatment. This test also indicated no significant differences between ethnic groups in mean beginning salaries or attitude toward college atmosphere, counselors, courses, instruction, or instructors. Another indication of the colleges' success was the fact that 92 per cent of their graduates in this sample were employed full-time. (JO)

This report responds to an Office of Management and Budget request for an evaluation of Federal manpower and recreation programs for youth. The legislative and administrative statements of program goals have been studied. Staff members of the administering agencies have been conferred with frequently. Reports from those agencies' information systems and recent national evaluations of the programs discussed have been read. Even so, serious deficiencies in data, coupled with noncomparable program objectives, prevent the achievement of the kind of comparative cost-benefit analysis which was hoped for. Benefit data was seldom accessible, and programs often account for costs quite differently. A framework for comparison of programs with similar objects was developed. This report does make some recommendations, relating both to broad national policy for Federal youth programs and to specific research needs. No two programs serve quite the same population, nor do they emphasize quite the same objectives. Some grouping by objectives was necessary to permit even limited comparisons. The categories used here are skill training, work support and experience, and recreation. A total of twelve programs are reviewed and evaluated. (Author/JM)

The purpose of this document is to help teachers stimulate children and provide successful learning experiences in order to develop positive self-concepts. Part I contains lists of suggestions of activities for unsupervised work at the following centers: (1) language, (2) chalk, (3) math, (4) measuring, (5) music, (6) games, toys, and puzzles, (7) library, (8) painting, (9) sewing, (10) cutting and pasting and clay, and (11) science. Part II contains summer learning activities for second and third graders concerning reading, writing, math, science, social studies, topics to talk about, and things to make and do. (DO)

TWO FORMS OF PAPER AND PENCIL ACHIEVEMENT TESTS WERE ASSEMBLED IN FOUR AND ONE FORM WAS ASSEMBLED IN THE OTHER OF THE FIVE TRADE CURRICULUM AREAS IN WHICH THE PROJECT IS DEVELOPING ACHIEVEMENT MEASURES. DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF 10 OF THE 12 MEASURES OF PERFORMANCE FOR THE FIVE AREAS WERE COMPLETED. NINE HOURS OF TESTING TIME WERE REQUESTED OF THE PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS FOR ADMINISTERING THE PAPER AND PENCIL PERFORMANCE AND REFERENCE TESTS, AND TESTING WAS BEGUN. TESTS IN THE TWO TECHNOLOGIES INCLUDED IN THE PROJECT WERE ADMINISTERED TO 179 STUDENTS IN ELECTRONIC DATA PROCESSING AND TO 338 STUDENTS IN ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY IN 29 INSTITUTIONS IN FIVE DIFFERENT STATES. TO IDENTIFY THE FACTORS ISOLATED THROUGH FACTOR ANALYSIS, SEVERAL TESTS WHICH MEASURE RELATIVELY PURE FACTORS OF INTELLIGENCE ARE TO BE USED IN THE PROJECT TESTING PROGRAM. THESE WERE SELECTED FROM THE "KIT OF REFERENCE TESTS FOR COGNITIVE FACTORS", DESCRIBED IN THE APPENDIX. A DESCRIPTION OF EACH PERFORMANCE TEST IS INCLUDED. OTHER PROGRESS REPORTS ARE VT 003 205, VT 003 315, VT 003 699, AND VT 005 199. (HC)

PRELIMINARY WORK ON DEVELOPING THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK INTO WHICH PSYCHOMOTOR BEHAVIORS CAN BE CATEGORIZED INVOLVED DESIGNING STUDIES TO DISCOVER THE DIMENSIONALITY OF THE TACTILE-KINESTHETIC SENSE MODALITIES IN ORDER THAT THEIR MODIFICATIONS AS A FUNCTION OF TRAINING CAN BE STUDIED. THE IMPORTANT CHANGES THAT OCCUR IN ACQUIRING THE SKILLS BEING STUDIED HAVE TO DO WITH THE PROBLEM OF TACTILE-KINESTHETIC PERCEPTION. THE SEVEN CURRICULUM AREAS WITH WHICH THE PROJECT IS CONCERNED ARE BEING ANALYZED BY A PSYCHOLOGIST, AN INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION SPECIALIST, AND SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS SO THAT THE COGNITIVE AND PSYCHOMOTOR BEHAVIORS THAT ARE INTENDED TO BE TAUGHT CAN BE SPECIFIED IN BEHAVIORAL TERMS. THIRTEEN NORTH CAROLINA TECHNICAL INSTITUTES AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES HAVE TENTATIVELY BEEN SELECTED FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROJECT. ALL FULL-TIME POSITIONS ON THE PROJECT HAVE BEEN FILLED, AND FIVE CONSULTANTS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED AND HAVE AGREED TO SERVE. OTHER PROGRESS REPORTS ARE VT 003 205, VT 003 315, VT 003 699, AND VT 005 200. (HC)

THIS IS A 3-PART DIRECTORY OF ASSOCIATIONS, SOCIETIES, AND ORGANIZATIONS WHICH PROVIDE A VARIETY OF RESOURCE MATERIALS FOR USE IN JUNIOR COLLEGE VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL PROGRAMS. A LISTING BY SPECIALIZED FIELDS INCLUDES AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION, BUSINESS EDUCATION, HEALTH OCCUPATIONS, HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION, INDUSTRIAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, AND PUBLIC SAFETY EDUCATION. THERE IS ALSO A LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS WITH A GENERALIZED INTEREST IN VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL EDUCATION. THE THIRD SECTION PROVIDES A LIST OF DIRECTORIES OF SOURCES OF MATERIALS. (WO)

THIS STUDY FURTHER DEVELOPS A DISCOVERY MADE BY AN EARLIER STUDY--THAT SYSTEMATIC TEACHER SUPPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMED LEARNING IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN RANDOM OR NO SUPPLEMENTATION. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, SETS OF 5 SIXTH GRADE CLASSES FROM EACH OF 3 SCHOOLS STUDIED A PROGRAMED TEXT, "WORDS," FOR 25 MINUTES EACH DAY FOR 3 WEEKS. READING ABILITY, THE MATCHING VARIABLE FOR COMPARING THE 15 CLASSES, WAS MEASURED BY THE GATES READING SURVEY. FOLLOWING STUDY OF THE PROGRAM, 5 METHODS OF SUPPLEMENTATION WERE USED--(1) THE TEACHER LECTURED ON CONCEPTS COVERED IN THEIR PROGRAMED ORDER, (2) TEACHER CONDUCTED RECITATION FROM PREPARED QUESTIONS FOLLOWING PROGRAMED ORDER, (3) STUDENTS CHECKED THEIR OWN COVERT RESPONSES AGAINST ANSWER BOOKLET, (4) TEACHER CONDUCTED RECITATION FROM PREPARED QUESTIONS IN RANDOM ORDER, (5) TEACHER LED RANDOM CLASS DISCUSSION ON CONCEPTS COVERED. RESULTS OF A FINAL TEST FOLLOWING THE EXPERIMENTAL PERIOD WERE ADJUSTED FOR DIFFERENCES IN READING LEVEL. FINDINGS WERE THAT ORDERLY LECTURE AND RECITATION PRODUCED HIGHER LEARNING THAN RANDOM DISCUSSION AND COVERT RESPONSES. IT WAS THUS CONFIRMED THAT THE MOST EFFECTIVE PROGRAM SUPPLEMENTATION IS A SYSTEMATIC LIVE TEACHER PRESENTATION. A DELAYED POSTTEST REVEALED THE SAME TENDENCIES AS THE FINAL TEST. RELATED QUESTIONS ARE DISCUSSED. (MS)

DURING THIS PERIOD FROM SEPTEMBER 1 THROUGH NOVEMBER 30, 1966, 35 FIELD CONSULTANTS COMPLETED ANALYSIS OF THEIR INDIVIDUAL TRADE AND TECHNICAL CURRICULUMS. THESE ANALYSES WERE DEVELOPED INTO AN OUTLINE TO SERVE AS A GUIDE FOR DEVELOPING ACHIEVEMENT TESTS. THE FINAL OUTLINE WAS DIVIDED INTO AS MANY DIFFERENT AREAS AS THE CONSULTANTS FELT NECESSARY TO REPRESENT INDEPENDENT AREAS OF INSTRUCTION. EACH INDEPENDENT AREA WAS THEN SUBDIVIDED TO DETAIL THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF THE CURRICULUM. THE BREAKDOWN WILL BE USED TO INSURE A TEST ITEM POOL REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM. REFERENCE TESTS WITH KNOWN RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ARE BEING EVALUATED TO DETERMINE WHICH WOULD BE MOST APPROPRIATE IN THE INITIAL TEST BATTERY AS A BASIS FOR COMPARING PROJECT TEST RESULTS. TWELVE NORTH CAROLINA TECHNICAL INSTITUTES PARTICIPATED IN THE INITIAL PHASE OF THE PROJECT, AND 10 ADDITIONAL INSTITUTIONS HAVE AGREED TO PARTICIPATE IN ADMINISTERING THE PRELIMINARY FORMS OF THE TEST. METHODS AND TECHNIQUES OF EVALUATING THE PRELIMINARY FORMS AND THE PROBLEMS OF DATA STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL HAVE BEEN STUDIED. EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF KINESTHETIC SENSITIVITY WERE CONDUCTED AND APPARATUS BUILT TO INVESTIGATE THIS AREA IN MORE DETAIL. AUDITORY RESPONSE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO ACHIEVEMENT IN SEVERAL OF THE VOCATIONAL AREAS WERE INVESTIGATED, AND HIGH-FIDELITY RECORDING EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN REQUISITIONED TO RECORD NORMAL AND ABNORMAL SOUNDS FOR DIAGNOSTIC WORK IN AUTO MECHANICS, MACHINE SHOP, AND RADIO-TV REPAIR. TWO PAPERS ARE GIVEN IN THE APPENDIXES -- "USE OF OBJECTIVES IN ITEM CONSTRUCTION" AND "AUDITORY DIAGNOSIS STUDY." (HC)