The purpose of this study was to determine what, or part of what, makes academic success probable or improbable for a student. The core research question was, Which practices, characteristics, and circumstances of students, families, schools, school districts, and communities tend to give Maine students a higher probability of meeting state…

Maine should be very proud of its public school system. Without question, since passage of the Sinclair Act in 1957, Maine has made great strides in the last 45 years in improving the quality of its public schools, and in expanding educational opportunities for more and more of its children. Maine citizens have increased their investment four-fold…

This paper analyzes labor market behaviors of young adults, their changing patterns among two cohorts that are twenty years apart, and their associations with transitions to adulthood as measured by living with parents, being married, or cohabiting. We analyze these issues using data from the 1979 and 1997 cohorts of he National Longitudinal…

The Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services (WPRS) program requires states to establish systems for identifying Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants likely to exhaust their UI benefits and refers them to reemployment services. An evaluation was conducted to assess the reliability of the impact estimates provided in the evaluation of the WPRS…

A study examined whether storybook exposure and the amount of teaching in reading and writing skills provided by parents would enhance the language skills and emergent literacy of 47 first-grade children. Hierarchical regression analyses that controlled for parents' print exposure, and children's age and analytical intelligence showed that at the…

A thorough understanding of the uses and applications of statistical techniques is integral in gaining support for library funding or new initiatives. This resource is designed to help practitioners develop and manipulate descriptive statistical information in evaluating library services, tracking and controlling limited resources, and analyzing…

The Navy's Voluntary Education (VOLED) program provides off-duty sailors seeking to enhance their professional and personal growth with educational opportunities integrating various continuing education. VOLED's four major components are tuition assistance, the Program for Afloat College Education (PACE), academic skills learning centers, and…

After adjusting for differences in background, women's average SAT-verbal scores were found to be higher than, or nearly equal to, men's. Although women's average SAT-mathematical scores after adjustment are still lower than men's, they are 25 points higher when adjusted for background. This report's analysis establishes that the background…

The use of regression equations to predict the expected achievement levels of five- and six-year-old children on the Wide Range Achievement Test are discussed. Problems are found in identifying underachievement for children in the lower primary grades. Implications for the early identification of specific learning disabilities are described.…

The short form of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) was administered to 587 university students, and scores were validated against final first and second semester grades in introductory foreign language classes for 529 and 365 students, respectively. The MLAT failed to distinguish good from poor students. (TJH)

Discussion of the effects of group aptitudes on achievement during small group learning highlights two studies that examined the effects of group composition on high and low aptitude college students. Heterogeneous and homogeneous aptitude groups are described, and an individual mastery contingency in the second study is explained. (21 references)…

A regression model of teacher stress was evaluated through the use of LISREL models at six selected points in time over an autumn term for 142 grade 1 through 12 teachers. Home environment and relations with colleagues and students were significant factors at various times throughout the study period. (TJH)

The validity of the assumptions under which the ordinal true score test theory was derived was examined using (1) simulation based on classical test theory; (2) a long empirical test with data from 321 sixth graders; and (3) an extensive simulation with 480 datasets based on the 3-parameter model. (SLD)

Gender differences in college grades in first-year mathematics (algebra, precalculus, or calculus) and Scholastic Aptitude Test Mathematics (SAT-M) scores were studied for about 7,000 men and 5,000 women. Gender differences favoring women in grades and men in SAT-M scores cannot be explained in terms of differential course selection. (SLD)

Relevance of the intersection of sociology, statistics, and public policy to the study of quality control in three family assistance programs--food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and Medicaid--is reviewed using a study by the National Academy of Sciences of methods for improving quality control systems. (SLD)