The procedures for the selection of a test population to use and evaluate the short units developed by the Sociological Resources for the Social Studies Project (SRSS), "Episodes in Social Inquiry Series," are considered. They wanted to assess the effectiveness of the materials under a variety of circumstances: classes from different…

The notion of comparing in curriculum evaluation is discussed, and some approaches to making comparative judgments about program effectiveness during the formative and summative evaluation stages are examined. Sources of information provided by external and internal program comparisons are described, and a model in which a policy capturing…

Describes the evolution of national educational assessment in the United States, its present stage of development, methodological and reporting problems, and approaches applicable to assessment data. Examines how proposed approaches can be applied in the California Assessment Program and in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. (MJL)

An alternative method for analyzing and evaluating prototype and revised instructional material is compared to traditional methods. The procedure and three approaches of sequential analysis are presented and advantages are discussed. References are included. (BK)

The self-selection problem in program evaluation is explored, and two ways of addressing it, covariate control approaches and two-stage sample selection models, are described. A longitudinal study of the effects of participation in Alcoholics Anonymous illustrates both approaches and shows the advantages of the two-step procedure. (SLD)

Reviews alternative ways to establish goals for early intervention for children with disabilities, based on ecological theory. The ecological foundations of early intervention are discussed and an overview of sampling tactics and dimensions is presented. Recommendations are made for using planned activities for intervention design. (CR)

This commentary on EC 603 695 argues that significance testing is a necessary but insufficient condition for positivistic research, that judgment-based assessment and single-subject research are not substitutes for significance testing, and that sampling fluctuation should be considered as one of numerous epistemological concerns in any…

A review of articles in Psychological Assessment reveals that many researchers develop instruments without the benefit of consultation with members of the target population. To the extent that researchers do consult the target population, most fail to bring consultation in early enough to inform the identification and specification of key…

This paper shares the findings of an inquiry that evaluated 50 survey articles published in a refereed journal, "Educational Administration Quarterly," by examining the 53 sample designs reported in the articles. The paper presents a typology of the sample designs identified, discusses the problems of sample selection and estimation…

Described is a study intended to evaluate a simulation exercise which was part of an environmental education program integrating courses and mini-courses for environmental awareness into existing curricula. Nine teachers and the associated 17 classes and 413 eleventh-grade biology students made up the study population. Techniques of treatment,…

This is one of a series of eight short monographs intended to aid practicing educators in planning and conducting accountability programs in schools. This booklet discusses how to determine a sampling method that is appropriate to the objectives of a particular research or evaluation effort. Short sections focus in turn on why and when to sample,…

The components of three areas that pose special problems in the evaluation of television programs are discussed: design, sampling, and measurement. Methods for ameliorating difficulties in these problem areas are suggested. (Author)

This report summarizes tasks undertaken to assess the feasibility of a longitudinal analysis of elementary and secondary schools. The initial objective was to see if it was technically possible to analyze overlap samples of schools from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to produce substantive findings. Over the course of the project various…

Presents a method for teaching sampling that uses hypothetical, small-scale target populations. Suggests that this method can best introduce the basic concepts of sampling in the context of a concrete example. Uses actual data collected from the class in order to provide a hands-on experience. Notes some potential limitations of the approach. (KO)

The equating methods and sampling designs used in the empirical studies in this special issue on the use of matched samples for test equating are described. Four requisites for equating are listed, and the invariance of equating functions requisite is identified as the focus of this issue. (SLD)