Recent reports on Australia's research infrastructure have highlighted the decline in serial subscriptions in academic and research libraries during the 1990s. They have used the annual CAUL statistics in order to support these claims. This article examines the CAUL statistics for serial subscriptions, indicating their numerous flaws when used for…

Dichotomous search strategies (DSSs) for computerized adaptive testing are similar to golden section search strategies (GSSSs). Each middle point of successive search regions is a testing point. After each item is administered, the subject's obtained score is compared with the expected score at successive testing points. If the subject's obtained…

In an investigation of item bias, the stability of Mantel-Haenszel (MH) estimates across different samples of test takers and different sample sizes and the robustness of the MH procedure with respect to item context effects were investigated. Data from the Second International Mathematics Study (1985) were analyzed. The data consisted of…

The reliability of Mantel-Haenszel (MH) indexes across samples of examinees and sample sizes and their robustness to item context effects were investigated with data for 670 African-American and 5,015 white students from the Second International Mathematics Study. MH procedures can be used to detect differential item functioning. (SLD)

The equating of reasonably parallel forms of College Board Achievement Tests in biology, chemistry, mathematics level II, American history and social studies, and French is discussed. Results of the following five equating methods are compared: (1) Tucker; (2) Levine equally reliable; (3) Levine unequally reliable; (4) frequency estimation…

The statute authorizing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) calls for the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) to set appropriate achievement levels in all areas and grades tested by the NAEP. These levels are intended to establish what students should know, not just what they do know. In 1990, the NAEP posited three…

Rectifies the unsatisfactory textbook treatment of the finite-sample proprieties of estimators of regression models with a lagged dependent variable and autocorrelated disturbances. Maintains that the bias of the ordinary least squares estimator is determined by the dynamic and correlation effects. (MJP)

The No Child Left Behind Act has brought great attention to the high school graduation rate as one of the mandatory accountability measures for public school systems. However, there is no consensus on how to calculate the high school graduation rate given the lack of longitudinal databases that track individual students. This study reviews…

We explore the association between urban density and pupil attainment using three cohorts of pupils in schooling in England. Although--as widely recognised--attainment in dense urban places is low on average, this is not because urban environments disadvantage pupils, but because the most disadvantaged pupils with low average attainments attend…

This monograph covers the theory, application, and interpretation of both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques in institutional research. Each chapter opens with a hypothetical case study, which is used to illustrate the application of one or more statistical procedures to typical research questions. Chapter 2 covers the comparison…