Not infrequently, investigators assume that reliability for groups is greater than reliability for persons, or that the error variance for groups is less than that for persons. Using generalizability theory, it is shown that this "conventional wisdom" is not necessarily true. Examples are provided from the course-evaluation and the…

Item response theory (IRT) model parameter estimates have considerable merit and open up new directions for test development, but misleading results are often obtained because of errors in the item parameter estimates. The problem of the effects of item parameter estimation errors on the test development process is discussed, and the seriousness…

Statistics used to estimate the population correlation ratio were reviewed and evaluated. The sampling distributions of Kelly's and Hays' statistics were studied empirically by computer simulation within the context of a three level one-way fixed effects analysis of variance design. (Author/RC)

A test of the concept of horizontality was devised to examine the performance of a sample of 861 Australian school children in grades 1 to 6 tested in their classrooms. (Editor)

An argument has been developed suggesting that a research model appropriate to open education evaluation could be systematically developed out of the writings of Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, Robert White, and M. Brewster Smith. (Author)

This study has focused on the use of language in the United Republic of Cameroon and on individual bilingualism with consideration of the social and political repercussions of social practices and educational policy. (RK)

Replication is important to viable scientific inquiry; results that will not replicate or generalize are of very limited value. Statistical significance enables the researcher to reject or not reject the null hypothesis according to the sample results obtained, but statistical significance does not indicate the probability that results will be…

Reported are preliminary data from a study of the relationship of three family systems dimensions to three measures of adolescent health extracted from the RAND Health Assessment Questionnaire: the Health Index, General Well-Being, and Symptom Checklist. Three hypotheses were tested: (1) perceived family organization, perceived family privacy, and…

Since the last comprehensive museum survey was conducted in 1971-72, no current data has been gathered about the museum field. Because the field has not remained static it has become difficult to apply the 1971-72 survey findings to current museum situations. Because of this, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) was requested to…

Using a Monte Carlo approach, comparison was made between traditional procedures and a multiple linear regression approach to test for differences between values of r sub 1 and r sub 2 when sample data were dependent and independent. For independent sample data, results from a z-test were compared to results from using multiple linear regression.…

Canonical correlation analysis is a powerful statistical method subsuming other parametric significance tests as special cases, and which can often best honor the complex reality to which most researchers wish to generalize. However, it has been suggested that the canonical correlation coefficient is positively biased. A Monte Carlo study…

This study examines the relative effectiveness of two means of analyzing the pre-test/post-test control group experimental design. Samples were randomly drawn from a standardized normal population and assigned to one of the four cells of the design. A set of experimental differences were induced in the post-test experimental cell. Each case was…

The oxygen profile procedure is a means of measuring the oxygen concentration at various locations in a basin. By dividing the surface of a basin into sections and then establishing sample points on the surface, at mid-depth, and near the bottom, a waste water treatment plant operator can measure and plot dissolved oxygen data which can be plotted…

There is a growing body of evidence indicating that people often overestimate the similarity between characteristics of random samples and those of the populations from which they are drawn. This paper: reviews studies that have attempted to determine whether the basic heuristic employed in thinking about random samples is passive and descriptive…