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The degree to which laptop and standard-size desktop computers are likely to produce comparable test results for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test was studied. Verbal, quantitative, and writing sections of a retired version of the GRE were used, since it was expected that performance on reading passages or mathematics items might be affected by monitor size and the additional scrolling needed for a laptop. Subjects were 201 paid volunteer graduate students and upper-level undergraduates on 9 university campuses, all of whom had at least minimal typing skills. Usable data were available for 200 subjects on the verbal and quantitative tests and 199 on the writing portion. All subjects participated with both types of computer. Analyses of test scores indicate that only performance on the essay section was affected by the type of computer used, and only for the first of two essays. The reason for the interaction of mode with order of testing was not evident, although fatigue may have modified the results of the second essay, which was written after earlier testing. The laptop model used in this study appears likely to yield results that are comparable to those obtained with a standard desktop model. (Contains seven tables and two references.) (SLD)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert