Purpose: This policy brief, the third in the AERI-NEPC eBrief series "Understanding validity issues around the world", discusses validity issues surrounding International Large Scale Assessment (ILSA) programs. ILSA programs, such as the well-known Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International…

Argues that teaching is both art and science, but that it is possible to evaluate effectiveness empirically. Discusses common research problems, including the large number of variables that can affect successful teaching; the validity of measurement instruments; and the relevance of research to actual classroom practices. (KH)

Excoriates Gerald Bracey's "broadsides" against the author's own article in same "Educational Leadership" issue for misinterpreting his conclusions and methodology. Stevenson's learning gap results did not oversimplify ability-effort relationship in U.S. and Asian students; results were similar for U.S. cities with both large…

Psacharopoulos has found a declining rate-of-return to education pattern across levels of per capita income, using international data. A reexamination of Psacharopoulos's cross-country data refutes his declining rate-of-return hypothesis and points to diversity of cross-country experience as a possibly significant factor in interpreting the data.…

Synthesizes findings from 36 studies that validated the Dunn and Dunn Model of Learning-Style Preferences. Questions are raised regarding the validity of the model, the nature of the literature base, the interpretation of the meta-analytic findings, and the conclusions. The article concludes that the model has not been adequately validated.…

Evaluating Chinese publications about rural education and needed reforms presents several problems: political limits on educational debate; paucity of statistical data and reference citations; and complex ideological statements. Examination of nine journal and newspaper articles reveals that they cautiously endorse rural education reforms within…

Discusses logic and interpretation problems inherent in doing quantitative syntheses of single-case research. Addresses the meta-analytic method of using percentage of nonoverlapping data, highlighting special concerns related to withdrawal designs, sensitivity to variability in behavior, social significance of behavior change, and variables that…

Factors contributing to American students' declining scores on the TIMSS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study) between grades 4 and 8 include textbook size and U.S. educators' traditional views of middle-school years. Bad data probably invalidate claims about the grade 8 to 12 decline. International reading scores favor Americans.…

A major focus for research in preparation programs should be on the practice of administration. For some time, the preparation of educational administrators has been rooted in the traditional liberal arts approach--the approach of a discipline--as a model for preparing the practitioner. Emphasis has shifted to the concept of the accurate…

Discusses the use of standardized achievement scores to measure the quality of practice-oriented school improvement activities in school districts. Focuses on four areas of concern: the multiple functions of schooling; documentation and data collection; real world complexities; and ethics. Recommends that cautions be taken against exclusive…

Presents the author's perspective on the topic of educational intervention for students with learning disabilities through a discussion of using validated, curriculum-based measurement as a determinant of effective instruction. Also examines the optimal characteristics and ethics of intervention research and the dissemination and implementation of…

Philosophical analysis was used to interpret a large-scale attitudinal survey that dealt with, among other factors, teachers' attitudes toward computers in the classroom. This analysis of the study considers the role of philosophical analysis in the context of empirical inquiry. To measure the impact of computers in the classroom on teachers in an…

Contends that the high quality of the probability sampling used by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) is due, in large part, to procedures developed by IEA's first statistical consultant, Gilbert Peaker. Concludes that the Peaker process is a first-class sample design. (CFR)

Mountains of data over 10 years show that the educational sky is not falling. This article deplores critics' disregard of the Sandia Report, American policymakers' test-craziness and education/economic productivity obsessions, the overrated "Texas Miracle," National Education Goals, and weighty student backpacks. (MLH)

This report examines federal, state, and local databases containing information on migrant workers and their children, identifies their common characteristics, and assesses their potential utility to inform educational policy analysis. General criteria used to evaluate each database's strengths and weaknesses include standardization, reliability,…