With escalating tuitions, the return to college quality remains an important consideration for students deciding whether to spend more money for a higher quality college education. This paper examines how students that transfer credit for an introductory-level course perform in a subsequent intermediate-level course. Using rich administrative data…

Using a production-functions approach, analyzes data from the National Assessment of Economic Education to investigate whether spending more on high school economics courses improves student performance measured by the Test of Economic Literacy (TEL). Delineates procedure. Results show direct allocation of resources produces improved student…

Describes two simple methods of error analysis: (1) combining errors in the measured quantities; and (2) calculating the error or uncertainty in the slope of a straight-line graph. Discusses significance of the error in the comparison of experimental results with some known value. (MDH)

Determines which factors within the family and school environments influence adolescents' educational aspirations, examining differences among ethnic groups and between males and females using a sample of 2,896 high school seniors from the High School and Beyond Survey of 1985. Findings confirm the significant influence of both environments. (SLD)

Reports on a study of the effect of small-group, active-learning approaches to bibliographic instruction and psychological type on learning and confidence. No significant relationship was found between students' scores and teaching method or psychological type. A significant relationship was found between knowledge scores and the librarian…

The results of a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) project at 10 Job Corps centers nationwide with 5,379 trainees indicate that effects of CAI after about 60 hours of classroom instruction are small and achievement gains are not significantly different from those of students taught conventionally. CAI may help motivate students. (SLD)

Self-perceived competence was assessed for 60 8- 13-year-old children, grouped by learning disability and behavior disorder. Subjects included 15 controls and 3 groups of 15 learning-disabled children each ("normals," externalizers, and mixed symptomatology). Cognitive and social self-concept are as strongly related to behavioral factors…

Examined contributions of different risk factors to predicting children's psychological and academic outcomes at end of first grade. Found that each analysis level contributed to prediction of most outcomes; 18 to 29% of outcome variance was predicted; a common set of predictors predicted numerous outcomes; ethnicity showed little unique…

Explored the assessment of family processes for African American kindergarten children, parents, and teachers involved in the EARLY ALLIANCE prevention trial. Regression analyses examined the relationship of family processes to child social and academic competence, problem behavior, and early reading achievement. Family structure, family cohesion,…

Recent assessment research joining cognitive psychology and psychometric theory has introduced a new technology, item generation. In algorithmic item generation, items are systematically created based on specific combinations of features that underlie the processing required to correctly solve a problem. Reading comprehension items have been more…

International students and the faculty and administrators charged with their oversight were surveyed at two religiously affiliated, private universities to determine the extent of their adjustment problems in the United States. Although the international students were found to have only minor adjustment problems in the twelve areas covered by the…

The impact of schools on student achievement has been of great interest in school effects research the last four decades. This study examines trends of school effects on student achievement, employing three national probability samples of high school seniors: NLS:72, HSB:82, and NELS:92. Hierarchical linear models are used to investigate school…

The decision for psychiatric hospitalization after deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) is not well understood. This study, a longitudinal cohort study of 3,148 consecutive DSP patients found 920 (29.2%) subjects were referred for psychiatric hospitalization, 576 (18.3%) on involuntary basis. A logistic regression analysis showed increased risk for:…

Background: Family history of mood disorders and stressful life events are both established risk factors for childhood depression. However, the role of mediators in risk trajectories, which are potential targets for intervention, remains understudied. To date, there have been no investigations of mediating relationships between risk factors and…

The current wave of educational reform includes an emphasis on family and community involvement as a strategy for school improvement. Yet, to effectively engage families and communities in the educational process, educators need assistance and support. In 1996, the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) was established to build the…