The purpose of this paper is to review and critique a groundbreaking research report. The research article under review in this paper is: "A Big Apple for Educators: New York City's Experiment with Schoolwide Performance Bonuses: Final Evaluation Report" (see ED521920). In 2007-08, a program called the Schoolwide Performance Bonus…

At many higher education institutions, admissions decisions often rely on standardized test scores and high school grades; yet, they are less reliable predictors for applicants falling slightly below cutoff points, what we call borderline applicants. Since borderline applicants are often from underrepresented backgrounds and diverted to 2-year…

As feedback is an important part of learning and motivation, we investigate how to adapt the feedback of a conversational agent to learner personality (as well as to learner performance, as we expect an interaction effect between personality and performance on feedback). We investigate two aspects of feedback. Firstly, we investigate whether the…

This report describes the problems related to control of or variety in curriculum in studies of teaching and the procedures used in one phase of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study to control to some extent the curriculum in reading and mathematics. The major focus of the document is the plan for further study of aspects of Experimental…

The 2 essays on educational vouchers given in this publication are: (1) "The Economics of Educational Vouchers: Schools and Parents", and (2) "The Alum Rock Voucher Program". "The Economics of Educational Vouchers: Schools and Parents" traces the roots of the voucher concept from Adam Smith to the conservative…

The Education Voucher Demonstration is a large-scale educational and social intervention that began in the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, San Jose, California, in September 1972. First funded by the Office of Economic Opportunity, it is now sponsored by the National Institute of Education. This technical appendix is the third of four…

This report describes the experimental design, presents the contract provisions, and provides conclusions and recommendations. The document is comprised of five chapters that discuss (1) the statistical analysis methods used, (2) the problems of using standardized tests in performance contracting, (3) the contractual procedures between OEO and the…

This report discusses the merits of performance contracting in the light of recent performance contract experiment evaluations, and it provides guidelines for administrators who are considering the use of performance contracts. The merits of the OEO experiment and the interpretation of the results by the OEO and the Rand Corporation are discussed.…

IN THREE SUCCESSIVE SEMESTERS (SPRING 1965, FALL 1965, AND SPRING 1966) MERRITT COLLEGE ENTERING FRESHMEN WHOSE LOW TEST SCORES INDICATED PROBABLE LACK OF SUCCESS IN COLLEGE WORK WERE OFFERED BLOCK PROGRAMS OF CLASSES DESIGNED TO HELP THEM GAIN INSIGHT AND PERSPECTIVE REGARDING THEIR SELF IMAGE, THEIR VALUES, AND THEIR INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS.…

A 10-year educational experiment being conducted in England in which 18,000 elementary school students are taught French by non-specialist teachers is described. The methods used rely extensively on audiovisual materials. Discussion focuses on the following factors affecting the program: (1) sex of the student, (2) socioeconomic status, (3)…

This report presents data pertaining to 13 different project objectives grouped by student, teacher, and community objectives. Student objectives covered self-initiated learning, competency in verbal and math skills, attitudes toward the alternative school, involvement in decisionmaking, community involvement, evaluation, self image, and students…

Two hundred first grade children participated in an experimental program involving innovative curricula and instructional techniques. A pretest-posttest method of instruction, employing sequenced and structured learning activities, enabled each child to progress at an individual rate and was supplemented by a readiness program. Evaluation of the…