A project was conducted to develop the methods, procedures, standards, and processes to enable adult basic and literacy education programs funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) to submit their student and staff data via computer disk. During the project, the Center for…

Education-agency and school staff are legally and ethically responsible for safeguarding student information. In addition to federal and state laws and regulations, education agencies need policies and procedures to guide their everyday information-maintenance operations. This document provides examples of policies and procedures as well as…

The use of verbal report procedures as a research tool for gaining insight into the language learning process is discussed. Specifically, having second language students complete think-aloud protocols when they take cloze tests can provide useful information about what is being measured and how it has been learned. Use of such introspective…

In 1989, the Transfer Assembly project was initiated by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) to determine the contribution of community colleges to students' progress towards baccalaureate degrees. In that year, 48 community colleges provided data on students, with transfers defined as students with no prior college experience who…

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a data collection system of the National Center for Education Statistics, which has the legislative mission of collecting and publishing data on the condition of education in the United States. The NHES provides information on educational issues that are best addressed by contacting households…

In 1994 the National Education Statistics Agenda Committee (NESAC) of the National Forum on Education Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), established the Core Data Task Force to identify and define a set of "core elements" for the collection and reporting of data about enduring and emerging issues at local,…

The purpose of this pamphlet is to clarify the issues pertaining to ownership of research data. It examines legal issues on data management for colleges and universities and suggests ways to better articulate statements regarding data management and ownership. It urges universities, research sponsors, and other pertinent groups to develop policies…

This study analyzed 13 national datasets and evaluated their utility for addressing policy questions concerning college faculty availability (such as minority hiring, affirmative action, supply and demand in specific disciplines) and the overproduction of Ph.D.s. Each dataset was evaluated for its utility in modeling faculty availability. Also…

This paper describes the first phase of a study to investigate students' evaluations of computer laboratory modules in a university-level, non-majors biology course. The National Science Foundation-funded project has two primary goals: (1) to develop programmable, multifunctional Bio LabStations for data collection and analysis, lab extensions,…

This report reflects the results of an evaluation of the definitions used in the annual Public Library Statistics (PLS) program, a joint federal-state information collection project, and is intended to raise specific issues for discussion among the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the Federal State Cooperative System (FSCS), and…

The influence of survey return rate and sources of information other than the survey on the teaching employment rate (as calculated) in the year following completion of a teacher preparation program were studied. A second objective was to investigate the tendency to respond for these individuals. A total of 291 individuals formed the target…

This paper addresses issues surrounding attempts to describe instructional practices and learning opportunities. It draws from the data and experiences of researchers associated with the Reform Up Close (RUC) Study conducted by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) for the National Science Foundation. The paper focuses on the…

This paper was developed for the Illinois State Board of Education as part of a year long project to address the issue of personnel shortages in special education. Recommendations from a number of state committees and professional organizations were analyzed and additional input obtained from various professionals in regular and special education.…

The Hawkins-Stafford Education Improvement Amendments of 1988 established the National Cooperative Education Statistics System and directed the Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics to support the development and implementation of standards for education data collection, processing, analysis, and reporting. The Cooperative…

Educational practitioners tend to resist or avoid doing educational research primarily for two reasons: their prior experience with statistics, computers, and research design has produced insecurity and anxiety; and, they have acquired a basic misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of research. Good research should be both technically sound…