This manual provides guidance and documentation for users of the 1993 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF-93) restricted-use data files and of the public-use institution data file. The NSOPF-93 was the successor to a 1988 study of postsecondary faculty. Information about the purpose of the study, the data collection instruments, the…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called the "Nation's Report Card," is the only nationally representative, continuing assessment of what U.S. students know and can do in various subject areas. NAEP provides a comprehensive measure of students' learning at critical junctures in their school experience. The…

The 1987-88 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) looked at a national sample of elementary and secondary public and private schools. Components of the SASS, a data collection effort of the National Center for Education Statistics, were surveys of teacher demand and shortage, schools, administrators, and teachers. Approximately 13,000 schools and…

The percentage of students at/above a cut point (PAAC) is one of the most common measures used for reporting school-level performance relative to a proficiency standard (L. Cronbach, N. Bradburn, and D. Horvitz, 1994). The two purposes of this study were to introduce procedures for estimating standard errors for school PAACs under a…

The Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B) tracks the experiences of a cohort of college graduates who received their baccalaureate degrees during the 1992-93 academic year and who were first interviewed as part of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. The experiences of this group in the areas of academic enrollment, degree…

This text provides a solid introduction to the foundations of research methods, with the goal of enabling students and professionals in the field of applied linguistics to become not just "casual" consumers of research who passively read bits and pieces of a research article, but "discerning" consumers able to effectively use published research…

In this study we test the performance of some nonexperimental estimators of impacts applied to an educational intervention--reduction in class size--where achievement test scores were the outcome. We compare the nonexperimental estimates of the impacts to "true impact" estimates provided by a random-assignment design used to assess the…

A closed sequential procedure for estimating true score is proposed for use with answer-until-correct tests. The accuracy of determining true score is the same as in conventional sequential solutions, but the possibility of using an unnecessarily large number of items is eliminated. (Author/CM)

Willmott's comparison of General Certificate of Education (GCE) scores in 1968 and 1973 is reexamined. The trend toward an increasing percentage of students who pass is confirmed, but estimates of standard errors indicate that subtest differences may be attributed to the sampling plan. (CP)

Scores in reading and comprehension on the University of Minnesota Reading and Speed of Reading examinations for the years 1928 and 1978 were compared. The 1978 freshmen were found to be at least one grade level below their 1928 counterparts in vocabulary, reading comprehension, and rate of reading. (MLW)

Do junior high school students agree on the characteristics of competent teachers? This broad question was divided into three areas--academic characteristics, personality, and physical characteristics--and asked of junior high school students. (Editor)

A study tested a resampling methodology (bootstrap simulation) by examining the effects of class size and student motivation on students' ratings of teaching effectiveness. Results suggest that evaluations based on student ratings should look at more than class averages, and that class size and student motivation affect overall ratings. Examples…

Expresses the importance of scientifically based research in education reform and explains how to judge the validity of educational research. Describes control groups, randomized and matched experiments, statistical educational significance, sample size, and the difference between scientifically based and rigorously evaluated research. (Contains…

Provides a short BASIC program, RANVAR, which generates random variates for various theoretical probability distributions. The seven variates include: uniform, exponential, normal, binomial, Poisson, Pascal, and triangular. (MVL)

Data from a sample of Egyptian university students was used to analyze the determinants of secondary school choice and the factors likely to affect secondary school certificate marks. High social background as well as attendance at a private school have a positive effect on examination marks. (Author/MLW)