RIGOROUS COURSES

RESEARCH FINDING:

The stronger the emphasis on academic courses,  the more advanced 
the subject matter, and the more rigorous the textbooks, the more 
high school students learn.   Subjects that are learned mainly in 
school  rather than at home,  such as science and math,  are most 
influenced by the number and kind of courses taken. 

COMMENT:

Students  often  handicap their intellectual growth  by  avoiding 
difficult  courses.   In  order to help young  people  make  wise 
course  choices,  schools are increasingly requiring students  to 
take courses that match their grade level and abilities;  schools 
are  also  seeing to it that the materials used in those  courses 
are intellectually challenging.

The  more  rigorous  the course of  study,  the  more  a  student 
achieves, within the limits of his capacity.  Student achievement 
also  depends on how much the school emphasizes a subject and the 
amount of time spent on it:   the more time expended,  the higher 
the  achievement.   Successful teachers encourage their students' 
best efforts.


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