A Program to Increase the Motivation of Low Achieving Students. Final Report.

A 3-year guidance program to increase achievement level and motivation admitted 73 low achieving 10th graders. Experimental subjects were assigned to seminar or non-seminar groups; controls remained in the usual slow track. Both experimental groups were divided into smaller groups for flexibly programed classes in English, social studies, and reading and for guidance classes; both groups participated in weekly cultural programs and field trips. The seminars for the one group provided individual counseling, conferences, supervised study, and library work. Students were evaluated throughout the program. Results varied from year to year but there were no significant differences in IQ or motivation. Although all had losses in achievement test scores at the end of the 1st year, the seminar group ranked first at the close of the program on every criterion measure variable, thus suggesting a differential response to the program. (JD)