President Obama has embraced an audacious ambition--to renew America's status as the world leader in college attainment. That goal is daunting, and it leads many people to conclude that they should focus federal investments on four-year colleges. If individuals want to realize the president's goal, that would be a terrible mistake. Located in…

Discusses Ward's article on the potential usefulness of social science researchers for government agencies' analysis of public opinion. Emphasizes the need to gather representative data and suggests that researchers can take a proactive role by using a theory of social behavior such as Bronfenbrenner's. (CB)

After September 11, 2001, the Bush administration initiated large-scale electronic surveillance within the United States to gather intelligence to protect citizens from terrorists. Media commentary, public reaction, and classroom practices regarding this program have tended toward either-or positions: either for presidential power and national…

Aimed at persons planning and implementing strategies for documenting school improvements, this paper is comprised of four sections. The first section distinguishes between national problems in education and federal issues in education (a distinction considered necessary for planning evaluations and establishing priorities for federally sponsored…

Reports agency publication policies established by the President's Task Force on Management Report and subsequent reductions in data collection and publishing activities. The impact of these policies on the availability and cost of federal statistical documentation collected by libraries is described. (CLB)

This article documents the wide variation in terminology used by the U.S. Department of Education and the 50 states in gathering data on deaf and hard-of-hearing children and in determining eligibility for services. Recommendations for achieving uniformity in defining and applying the terms "deaf" and "hard of hearing" are…

In 1978 the U.S. Congress passed the Control of Paperwork Amendments to control education-related paperwork and reduce unnecessary reporting. A study by the General Accounting Office (GAO) found that by 1981 the requirements of the law had yet to be met. According to the GAO, the Secretary of Education should reactivate the Federal Education Data…

Discusses Ward's analysis of letters sent to the Federal Trade Commission about children's advertising. Advocates that public opinion research concerning consumer protection issues should include information on the degree to which consumers are informed of their fundamental rights with respect to the consumer issues being studied. (CB)

Discusses problems involved in estimating federal financial support for education by the type of ultimate recipient (such as school districts or students), especially using data from recipients. Proposes a new approach based on data from federal aid-givers and applies the method to federal budget data for fiscal year 1980. (RW)

Describes the activities of the federal government, state governments, and library associations in generating statistics on U.S. libraries, and discusses the problems that arise from a lack of coordination. Issues discussed include standardized definitions, scope and coverage, data collection and aggregation, data analysis and interpretation,…

The conflict between immediacy and accuracy in data-gathering and analysis is discussed. The case of the Postsecondary Transcript Sample (PETS) of the National Longitudinal Study is used to illustrate the particulars of this conflict and their resolution on the side of accuracy. (Author/MLW)

Building on previous discussions of Federal information inventory locator systems (FILS), this report explores issues related to FILS and identifies policy and implementation options that can best meet the competing rationales and requirements for FILS. The concept of a Government-wide Information Inventory/Locator System is explored, and it is…

Professional educators must take advantage of public awareness and demand for change if education is to avoid a decade "full of sound and fury" in the 1980s. A solid statistical base is needed from which to describe, select, test, and evaluate policy alternatives. Teachers and government are critical inputs into the educational system.…

Two trends have inhibited the development of information and ideas, which are vital resources in a modern technological society, First, the Federal Government is engaged in efforts to control the flow of scientific and technical information (STI) to make it less accessible to foreign competitors and hostile nations. Second, the role of government…

Discussing major policy, management, and program issues facing Congress and the Clinton administration in the area of health and human services, this pamphlet provides recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the social security system, the welfare system, preventing child abuse, and safeguarding the nation's…