The No Child Left Behind Act requires states to publish high school graduation rates for public schools; the U.S. Department of Education is currently considering a mandate to standardize high school graduation rate reporting. However, no consensus exists among researchers or policymakers about how to measure high school graduation rates. We use…

This study evaluates 35 federal and privately sponsored databases that report national education statistics in terms of their potential for informing policy deliberations. It argues that for all the national data collected, information is lacking on several major concerns, is often inadequate statistically, and is sometimes contradictory. Various…

Suggestions are made on effective presentations by evaluators of research studies to audiences who are not statisticians. Examples of effective presentation methods are given: analogies in presenting statistics; graphs or pictorial presentations; summaries to highlight findings; concise reports based on a television newscast style; and judicial…

A means of generating an interstate cost-of-living (COL) index from market basket data collected at the standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA) level is described. Models developed for four regions explain differences in the COL among over 180 SMSAs. An adjusted average teacher salary for each state is also generated. (TJH)

Three articles discuss Bureau of Labor Statistics projections of occupational employment growth. Bishop and Carter predict a continuing escalation of wage premiums for college graduates; Kutscher concedes the validity of some of Bishop and Carter's points but denies the shortage. Bishop and Carter respond with census figures. (SLD)

As a first step in analyzing sources of teacher supply, the flow from each source, and characteristics of teachers entering or reentering the field, data from Indiana databases of teachers from 1965-88 (n=897) and new teachers (n=741) in 1987-88 were analyzed. (SLD)