January 7, 1983

At 9 A.M. today, Ann Pancila, secretary to the principal of James Caldwell High School here, switched on the public-address system, asked for the attention of the school's 754 students and, in a clear and authoritative voice, proclaimed, ''We are now going to observe one minute of silence.'' In Room 512, some of the 17 students sat quietly, a few fidgeted in their seats, a couple giggled. Their class on the methods and procedures of the United States Supreme Court had just come to a close. On this particular day, the students had spent the preceding 45 minutes discussing prayer in the public schools and New Jersey's new law mandating a moment of silence.

One of the world's best known art dealers was sentenced on a criminal conviction yesterday to set up a scholarship fund and artappreciation programs for New York City high school students. The dealer, Frank Lloyd, the 71-year-old owner of the international group of Marlborough Galleries, could have received four years in prison for tampering with evidence in a lawsuit over the estate of Mark Rothko, the late Abstract Expressionist painter. The sentencing ended the most spectacular and complex court case in the history of modern art in this country, a tangled and costly 11-year legal battle that began with civil charges, ended in a criminal trial and captivated the art world with tales of money, power and conspiracy. Mr. Lloyd was ordered by Acting State Supreme Court Justice Herbert I. Altman to set up the scholarship fund and a series of art lectures and private showings for students at each new exhibition that comes to his New York gallery.

President Reagan has accepted a scaled-down economic forecast of 1.4 percent economic growth this year over 1982, after adjustment for inflation, Administration officials said today. The projection leaves the unemployment rate near 10.5 percent at the end of this year and still around 9 percent at the end of the 1984 Presidential election year. Administration officials had earlier stated that the growth rate for this year would be below 2 percent. That was a significant cut from a preliminary forecast in September of 3.1 percent growth after inflation.

The I.C.C. dropped a 48-year ban on railroads entering the commercial trucking business. The action will allow the railroads to move closer to becoming complete transportation companies. The trucking industry immediately challenged the decision and threatened court action. Analysts said that in time, many railroads would probably operate large trucking subsidiaries. (Page A1.) The Administration is undecided on key budget questions, with a wide range of strategies still under study. The options were said to include a possible freeze of some spending levels to deal with the record Federal deficit. (A1.) President Reagan signed a bill providing the first increase in Federal gasoline taxes in 23 years. (B5.) The promise of a sustained recovery is now being threatened by huge deficits that would not disappear even if the economy started growing strongly again. (A1.)

Rising hopes of an economic recovery sent the Dow Jones industrial average up 26.03 points yesterday, to a record close of 1,070.92, in the heaviest trading in two months. Buyers, especially pension funds and mutual funds, flocked to the stocks of such depressed basic industries as chemicals, steel and oil and gas, reasoning that they would benefit from economic recovery, analysts said. The institutions also bought blue-chip and transportation stocks, which have been strong performers for months. William M. LeFevre, market strategist at Purcell, Graham & Company, said the market seemed to be saying, ''Economic recovery is just around the corner, as evidenced by the recent upswing in housing and auto sales.''