The arc of quantitative educational research should not be etched in stone but should adapt and change over time. In this article, I argue that it is time for a reshaping by offering my personal view of the past, present and future of our field. Educational research--and research in the social and life sciences--is at a crossroads. There are many…

Learning Analytics (LA) is a field that aims to optimize learning through the study of dynamical processes occurring in the students' context. It covers the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about students and their contexts. This study aims at surveying existing research on LA to identify approaches, topics, and needs for…

"Beginning Interpretive Inquiry" importantly makes the distinction between the use of "inquiry" rather than interpretive research or interpretive evaluation. Richard Morehouse explores how inquiry is a far more inclusive concept that allows for a detailed understanding of both research and evaluation. The author draws on his personal experiences…

The role of the administrator has evolved over the past 30 years from manager to instructional leader. As instructional leaders, administrators are now responsible for student achievement on high-stakes state-mandated assessments. Therefore, it is imperative principal preparation programs provide the necessary training instructional leaders need…

In keeping with the theme of the International Language Testing Association/Language Testing Research Colloquium Conference in 2008, "Focusing on the Core: Justifying the Use of Language Assessments to Stakeholders," I define "stakeholder-friendly tests," "defensible testing," and "testing-context analysis."…

Some of the requirements and consequences of rigorous and valid educational evaluation research are explored in terms of problems in achieving two types of external validity, population and ecological. The former refers to the generalizability of inferences to subjects not included in a study, while the latter is concerned with the…

Five papers published in a special edition of Human Factors, August 1973 are examined in an attempt to explain and illustrate the characteristics and applications of central-composite designs in the context of response-surface methodology (RSM). A detailed analysis is provided to show that the experimental papers (1) fail to illustrate the most…

The necessity of evaluating research methodology is discussed, and a profiling approach is proposed. Explanatory statements about the research process, directions for doing the actual profiling of the research report, a research profiling flow chart, a research profile sheet, and two additional graphic aids to understanding are included. The…

This report is the result of a project which analyzed the current collection of statistics from academic, public, and school libraries by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and by state agencies and prepared recommendations for a more efficient and effective national data collection system. Current data collection methods are…

The development and use of library statistics in the Soviet Union and systems of reporting are discussed in this speech by E.A. Fenelonov, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, and are compared with statistical development in the United States by Vernon E. Palmour of King Research, Inc. Fenelonov emphasizes the use…

A one-week VTAE (Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education) Researcher Workshop was designed to increase the research competencies of Wisconsin VTAE staff members working with research and evaluation projects through a hands-on approach. Based on a needs assessment conducted with the participants, the agenda included sessions on various aspects…

Measuring cognitive achievement gains in project evaluation is dealt with. This guide provides those concerned with project evaluation with the basic tools for conducting technically sound, interpretable evaluation studies. Exotic designs are avoided and five basic models which appear feasible to implement in real-world settings are focused on.…

The Design for Tennessee Assessment and Evaluation of Title III, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, was developed to provide a tool for educators to use in evaluating projects and programs in Tennessee schools. An intensive workshop on evaluation was held using the Tennessee Evaluation Design as the synthesizing structure. The presentations…

A model for educational supervisors which attempts to link management theory to learning is demonstrated. With teachers today having greater autonomy in selecting appropriate content and methods, supervisors should focus on two tasks: they should become more involved with teachers in selecting goals and become more adept in monitoring the…