The impact of achievement testing on a Spring-Spring vs. a Fall-Spring basis in evaluation of compensatory education programs is examined. The effects of the summer vacation period and crossing test levels were examined. Significant decreases in achievement test scores were found, at all grade levels, between Spring and Fall test administrations.…

The tenability of the equipercentile growth assumption was investigated. This assumption is the basis of the norm referenced evaluation model (Model A) for Title I program evaluations, and supposes that a cohort of students, given no special educational intervention, will maintain the same percentile rank over the course of a school year, as…

The motivational dynamics of educationally disadvantaged students in Title I education programs in Illinois were studied. Pretesting and posttesting for 450 students in grades 1 through 6 were conducted by using two test forms, the Mature Test Form for the older students and the Happy Face Form for the younger students. Ethnicity included Whites,…

The assertion that Model C is feasible for Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I evaluation, why it is feasible, and reasons why it is so seldom used are explained. Two assumptions must be made to use the special regression model. First, a strict cut-off must be used on the pretest to assign students to Title I and comparison groups. Second,…

The accuracy with which regression models estimate treatment effects is dependent upon a number of conditions. The stability of the regression line (a function of sample size and correlation between pretest and posttest) is said to be the most important of these conditions. The utility of regression models is proportional to the size of the…

This report documents the activities of the technical committee formed to examine issues related to the norm-referenced model (RMC Model A) for evaluation of Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I programs. Background information is provided on the committee's activities, purpose, and meetings; and the members are listed. The reports of…

The feasibility of constructing composite scores which will yield pretest measures having all the properties required by the special regression model is explored as an alternative to the single pretest score usually used in student selection for Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I compensatory education programs. Reading data, including…

The RMC Model A (norm-referenced) for evaluation of Title I programs is based upon the equipercentile assumption--that students maintain their percentile rank over a one-year period, provided that no special instrucional intervention is introduced. The control group, essentially the sample used to standardize the achievement test, represents the…

Twelve common errors which can invalidate an otherwise sound evaluation are identified, and ways to avoid them are presented. The hazards are: (1) grade-equivalent scores; (2) inappropriate statistical adjustments with nonequivalent control groups; (3) administering norm-referenced tests at inappropriate times of the school year; (4) inappropriate…

The role that measurement error plays in the regression effect is discussed with particular reference to the RMC models for evaluating the effects of Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I programs. The norm referenced evaluation model assumes a theory of growth where the relative ranking of students remains the same from pretest to posttest…

The norm-referenced evaluation model (RMC Model A) for Title I project evaluation, consists of procedures whereby the expected posttest standing of a treatment group under the null condition is generated from their pretest standing. It is assumed that the treatment group is not selected on the basis of their pretest scores and can be considered…

Kindergarten pupils enrolled in Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I schools were selected for the Kindergarten Extended Day (KED) Program if they showed marked underachievement on the Cooperative Preschool Inventory (CPI). KED students attended kindergarten for an additional half day. Since previous evaluations of KED may have had…

Ninth grade Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I evaluation results in reading and English-writing projects were compared, using the RMC Model A with local empirical norms, Model A with national interpolated norms, and Model B. The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS)--Total Reading and Total Language subtests--were administered…