In 1916, the Foundation's Department of Child-Helping organized round table sessions to assist trustees of institutions caring for dependent children in their administrative duties. This document outlines the agendas of the meetings, which also accompanied the publication of eight short monographs of study findings.

C. SPENCER RICHARDSON was associate director of the Department of Child-Helping of the Russell Sage Foundation.

This pamphlet, published in 1911, looks into the causes which contribute to making a child over-age for his grade and if the responsibility lies with the school. Conclusions presented demonstrate the importance of studying the progress of school children as well as their distribution by ages and grades.

LEONARD P. AYRES was director of the Division of Education at the Russell Sage Foundation.

This 1913 paper examines the use of psychological tests in selecting applicants who are best fitted to perform work for positions in certain occupations and industries. Also studied is the possibility of using psychological tests for the purpose of selecting fitting vocations for people.

LEONARD P. AYRES was director of the Division of Education at the Russell Sage Foundation.

Published in 1913, The Effect of Promotion Rates on School Efficiency presents findings that illustrate the great importance of small differences in promotion rates in education, particularly the degree to which children are trained in habits of success and failure.

LEONARD P. AYRES was director of the Division of Education at the Russell Sage Foundation.

This article offers an evaluation of the Binet-Simon Measuring Scale for Intelligence, a 1908 series of tests developed by French psychologists for the diagnosis of the level of intelligence of children. The scale had widespread application at the time, with minor variations to adapt to the needs of American children. By assessing each test and determining a number of flaws, such as overemphasis on “puzzle tests,” the author argues that, beyond small adjustments, an entirely new measuring scale is needed to test intellectual performance.

LEONARD P. AYRES was director of the Division of Education at the Russell Sage Foundation.

In the course of its television lifetime, "Sesame Street" has taught alphabet-related skills to hundreds of thousands of preschool children. But the program may have attracted more of its regular viewers from relatively affluent homes in which the parents were better educated. Analyzing and reevaluating data drawn from several sources, principally the Educational Testing Service's evaluations of "Sesame Street," the authors of this book open fresh lines of inquiry into how much economically disadvantaged children learned from viewing the series for six months and into whether the program is widening the gap that separates the academic achievement of disadvantaged preschoolers from that of their more affluent counterparts.  The authors define as acute dilemma currently facing educational policymakers: what positive results are achieved when a large number of children learn some skills at a younger age if this absolute increase in knowledge is associated with an increase in the difference between social groups?

THOMAS D. COOK is Joan and Sarepta Harrison Chair of Ethics and Justice and professor of sociology, psychology, and education and social policy at Northwestern University.