In Brief

By DANIEL S. LEVY

THE WONDER YEARS For 27 years, researchers at the University of North Carolina followed the progress of children enrolled in quality child-care programs. Last week they revealed that those who attended such programs soon after birth through kindergarten maintained the positive effects of the education into adulthood, doing better on reading and math tests than those who didn't receive such an education.

TRICK OR TREAT Last week the Federal Trade Commission cracked down on Web businesses that entice kids with games and entertainment in exchange for personal information they then sell to marketers. As part of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the FTC now requires companies to e-mail parents for permission before receiving names, addresses, phone numbers or other information from children under 13. The commission also stipulates that the material cannot be shared with other firms.

SAFER SCHOOLS AND STREETS Fifty-two percent of American teenagers say a mass killing like the one at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., could happen at their school, but only 9% say the biggest problem facing them is violence, down from 22% in 1994, according to a New York Times/CBS News study released last week. Thirty-one percent say the main concern facing teenagers is drugs, and 21% say it is peer pressure. The study indicates that perceptions of teen violence are finally conforming to the drop in such crimes in recent years.

--By Daniel S. Levy