The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the analysis of data collected by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). In simplest terms, the analysis can be characterized as establishing baseline estimates of the percentages of young Americans possessing certain skills, knowledge, understandings, and attitudes and…

This paper describes the methodology used in a study assessing the health needs of the Asian population, specifically the Chinese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese populations, in Santa Clara County, California. The study by the Santa Clara County Health Department is part of a wide-ranging needs assessment project primarily intended to guide…

An attempt was made to determine whether a non-response bias exists in the annual follow-up surveys of graduates of teacher education programs when the surveys focus on more than employment. Subjects were 291 graduates of teacher certification programs at a major university in the southeastern United States from Fall 1986 through Summer 1987. In…

Attitudes and preferences toward mail surveys were studied from the viewpoint of the recipient. Approximately 386 residents of a small rural community in Florida were sent a questionnaire about attitudes toward mail surveys, with half receiving a follow-up card after 4 days. A total of 123 usable questionnaires were returned. Respondents were…

Multiple matrix sampling (MMS) theory indicates how data may be gathered to most efficiently convey information about levels of attainment in a population, but standard analyses of these data require random sampling of items from a fixed pool of items. This assumption proscribes the retirement of flawed or obsolete items from the pool as well as…

This report describes new statistical procedures for item response analysis using estimation of item response curves used in mental testing with ability parameters treated as a random sample. Modern computer technology and the EM algorithm make this solution possible. The research focused on the theoretical formulation and solution of maximum…

A normally distributed data set of 1,000 values--ranging from 50 to 150, with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 20--was created in order to evaluate the bootstrap method of repeated random sampling. Nine bootstrap samples of N=10 and nine more bootstrap samples of N=25 were randomly selected. One thousand random samples were selected from…

Both criterion-referenced testing and behavioral assessment share the basic assumption that test behavior is a sample rather than a sign. In addition, both types of assessment focus on response capabilities and performance in specified content domains. Although content validity has been traditionally recognized as essential to criterion-referenced…

One of a series of reports on the International Project for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (in Mathematics).

To explore androcentric bias in the "Educational Administration Quarterly" (EAQ), researchers performed a content analysis of 90 articles from ten volumes of the EAQ (1970-1979). An initial demographic analysis of the articles looked at the author's gender, article focus, and use of sexist language. The researchers then examined five…

A sample of 974 school districts was surveyed by mail to determine the current and projected use of computers in United States public secondary/elementary schools, with special reference to computer assisted learning. Returned questionnaires provided a 62.3 percent response rate, and were balanced both geographically and by urban/rural…

Beginning with the planning stages of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), careful attention has been given to the design of efficient probability sampling methods for the selection of class-age respondents and the assignment of test packages. With these methods, it is possible for NAEP researchers to make relatively precise…

This study examined the effects of certain item selection methods on the classification accuracy and classification consistency of criterion-referenced instruments. Three item response data sets, representing varying situations of instructional effectiveness, were simulated. Five methods of item selection were then applied to each data set for the…

The reliability and validity of measurement is analyzed by a sampling model based on generalizability theory. A model for the relationship between a measurement procedure and an attribute is developed from an analysis of how measurements are used and interpreted in science. The model provides a basis for analyzing the concept of an error of…