Researchers too frequently consider the reliability of the scores they analyze, and this may lead to incorrect conclusions. Practice in this regard may be negatively influenced by telegraphic habits of speech implying that tests possess reliability and other measurement characteristics. Styles of speaking in journal articles, in textbooks, and in…

The Information Exchange Procedures (IEP), which were developed through a project sponsored by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, are briefly described, and the application of the IEP in Virginia is examined. The IEP were designed to enhance the institution's ability to identify alternatives in the allocation of resources…

This final report analyzes results of a comprehensive, integrative review of 273 primary research studies on modifying attitudes toward disabled persons. Attitude modification approaches identified included providing information, direct contact with disabled persons, vicarious experiences related to having a disability, systematic desensitization,…

During the Spring of 1989, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction field-tested a geometry proof performance assessment as a component of the High School End-of-Course Testing Program (EoC). The existing geometry EoC test consisted only of multiple-choice items. The performance assessment was added to the multiple-choice component to…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes the official unemployment rate on the first Friday of each month based on a sample survey of 59,500 households called the Current Population Survey. Unemployment data for states and local areas are published monthly by the BLS in cooperation with the state employment security agencies. The primary…

Instructional leadership studies are plentiful but have many shortcomings, including lack of definition of key variables, problems of causality, overrepresentation of exemplary schools, and lack of validity and reliability in research design and implementation. Definitions of "leadership" and "instruction" are needed. There is…

Recent research (1978-1982) on student evaluations of teaching is reviewed, including: influence of background variables pertaining to the student, the teacher, and the learning environment; the dimensions of the teaching being evaluated; the validity of students' evaluations; the "Doctor Fox" effect and its implications for validity; the…

In support of research examining relationships between learner characteristics and the quality of online discussions, this paper surveys different methods for evaluating discussions. The paper will present coding methods used in our own research as well as methods used by others interested in quality online discussions. Key topics include what…

This document examines the work of Daniel Starch, emphasizing his work in educational psychology and advertising. After earning his doctorate in psychology (1906), Starch attempted to apply the findings of the new science to education and to advertising. This application met with much success. In advertising, he devised new sampling techniques and…

This brief report summarizes the analysis and conclusions presented in detail in Interim Report VI regarding the feasibility of conducting a longitudinal study of Project Developmental Continuity (PDC). This project is a Head Start demonstration program aimed at providing educational and developmental continuity between children's Head Start and…

COLLEGE FRESHMEN VOLUNTEERED FOR THIS LABORATORY EXPERIMENT USING SELF PACING ON INDIVIDUAL TEACHING MACHINES FOR LIBRARY ORIENTATION. SLIDES PRESENTED TO ONE GROUP (COL) COMBINED COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS AND PRINT, WHILE THE OTHER GROUP (PRN) SAW SLIDES WITH ONLY PRINT CONTENT. PRE-TESTS INCLUDED STANDARD ABILITY TESTS, AND A LIBRARY USAGE TEST, ALSO…

A chronicle of the problems faced in an attempt to collect data on sociology curriculum trends in California's community college system is presented. The project was initiated in an effort to determine if other colleges in the system were experiencing the same difficulties with curriculum and enrollment in sociology courses being encountered by…

The purpose of the study was twofold: first, to determine the reliability of a paired-associate (PA) task when used as a test of learning proficiency; and second, to assess the relationship between performance on the PA task and on IQ tests as a function of grade level (kindergarten, first, third) and socioeconomic status (high, low). The…

Unlike the past models guiding cross-cultural psychological research, a new paradigm facilitates multiple level investigations by incorporating both culture-specific (nested) and culture-general (crossed) independent variables within its partially-hierarchical framework. Based upon the generalizability analysis, this model generates sequential…

This paper reports the results of an evaluative statistical analysis of the instrument employed for student evaluation of faculty at Oakton Community College (Illinois). The analysis was performed because the locally devised instrument had never been subjected to systematic study of reliability or validity, and because a review of pertinent…