Two studies (from 1989 and 1990) are reviewed to illustrate the effectiveness and versatility of "ethnographies of thought" (as described by C. Geertz, 1983) for gaining significant understanding of the meaning perspectives of research participants and the contexts of a variety of educational settings. The methodological implications of the two…

A research plan for investigating the effects of student portfolios on teaching and learning at three different school sites is described. The plan accommodates two categories of research questions: (1) broad, cross-site questions; and (2) site-specific questions generated by participants at each individual site. Data collection strategies…

This policy guide argues the need for improved indicators of student coursework, illustrates the information that different types of measures convey, outlines the key choices that need to be made about data collection, and suggests ways in which states might develop more valid and useful indicators of student coursework. In its broadest form,…

Colleges of further education in Great Britain have been involved in three recent initiatives in the implementation of ethnic monitoring: (1) a report on ethnic monitoring in postsecondary education; (2) two management training conferences on the implementation and uses of ethnic monitoring for representatives of further, adult, and higher…

This guide, designed to help institutions plan integrated information systems which will enable them to meet their needs for data on foreign students was developed during a 3-day seminar in February, 1984. The first of five chapters provides a brief introduction on how to use the planning guide. Chapter 2 contains information designed to guide the…

In 1989 and 1990 the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to standing committees in the U.S. Congress identified and explored issues for consideration in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and Title IV programs. Through 18 months of information gathering the Committee uncovered three problem areas. The first problem is…

A self-study model used to assess the effectiveness of occupational/technical and transfer programs at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (JSRCC) in Virginia is provided in this manual. First, an introduction discusses the intent of the evaluation process and describes revisions of the model which was initially developed between 1979 and 1981.…

The present study investigated the reliability and validity of scores from the Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory. The CAP is a screening device for physical abuse potential in adults; it is a self-administered test written on a third-grade reading level. Subjects were 113 mothers, including 53 (46.9%) mothers of young children with handicaps,…

Some students are excluded from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) because of an inability, whether due to physical, mental, or linguistic barriers, to participate in studies requiring questionnaire or cognitive test completion. The implications of this exclusion for sample representativeness, national estimation, and…

The J-50 Report, one of the most complicated entitlement reports that any state agency requires, provides information for funding and monitoring special education services and operations throughout California and for making special education funding allocations equitable. This manual was developed to assist local educational agency (LEA) and…

It is noted that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and libraries have a mutual mission: the collection and dissemination of information in formats that are useful to the information needs of the public. This report discusses the NCES' mission statement in these terms and describes its broad-based data gathering program, which…

A preliminary collaborative model is presented for the restructuring of the San Diego (California) city schools to implement diverse forms of assessment. It is assumed that collaboration among program evaluation, curriculum, and classroom teachers can foster reforms. Central office staff can enable and facilitate the implementation of different…

Current theories of intellectual development claim that such development proceeds through invariant sequences of increasingly more adequate cognitive structures. According to the two dominant theories on changes in intellectual functioning during adulthood, intellectual development is essentially accomplished by adolescence, although sharpening…

The Program Review Extension Procedures (PREP) set forth in this manual are a flexible set of procedures and questionnaires designed for use by Michigan community colleges in evaluating non-occupational instructional areas. First, introductory material explains that PREP is not a component of, but rather a companion model to the Michigan Community…

An overview is provided of the issues involved in the state-mandated exchange of data about transfer students between two-year and four-year colleges in Virginia. Background is presented on state legislators' concerns with the measurement of student achievement; guidelines developed by the state assembly regarding data exchanges and student…