The Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) test was administered to pupils in grade 1 for the first time, at state level, in April 1986. Students with certain disabilities and those with limited English proficiency were exempted from this testing cycle. This 84-item test measured 21 objectives: 8 for mathematics, 9 for reading, and…

Since its inception in 1984, the CADET (Computer-Assisted Distance Education Telecommunications), a micro to mainframe computer program developed by the University of Oklahoma but modified for use at the University of Alberta in Canada, has achieved major results. Its successful use in delivering a distance education graduate course in which both…

This document presents brief descriptions of successful approaches that states, local school districts, and individual schools have taken to incorporate and/or expand the teaching of basic competencies. Two presentations made at the Southern Regional Education Board's meeting on "Strengthening the Academic Preparation of Vocational Students"…

When the three-parameter logistic model and item response theory are used to analyze Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) data, there are problems with the assumption of unidimensionality. Linear factor analytic models, exploratory factor analysis programs, and the comparison of item parameter estimates for heterogeneous and homogeneous…

This study examines whether male and female teachers differ in: (1) their background or training for instructional uses of microcomputers, and (2) their uses of microcomputers to teach mathematics and science. Research carried out in 60 classrooms in 49 schools in 25 California school districts provided data on district and school microcomputer…

This paper presents an introduction to the use of latent trait models for the estimation of domain scores. It was shown that these models provided an advantage over classical test theory and binomial error models in that unbiased estimates of true domain scores could be obtained even when items were not randomly selected from a universe of items.…

During 1985, the Wisconsin Board of Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education (VTAE) expanded its delivery of instruction via television. Approximately 3,000 persons at 170 sites throughout the United States and Canada participated in the VTAE's Technical School of the Air. In addition to delivering six to eight courses per semester, the network…

Ratios that enable colleges and universities to select other institutions for comparison are presented. The ratios and underlying data also enable colleges to rank order institutions and to calculate means, quartiles, and ranges for these groups. The data are based on FY 1983 U.S. Department of Education Statistics. The ratios summarize the…

This study was conducted to determine whether young children, given the experience of Logo programming, would acquire problem-solving skills and be able to transfer those skills to other areas. The study also investigated Logo's effectiveness in teaching certain fundamental geometric concepts to children who were supposedly not developmentally…

This paper discusses the use of computers in urban schools and mathematics education as it relates to computer literacy, especially for black students. First, the importance of computer literacy as an entry to the technological workplace is emphasized and computer literacy is defined. Mathematics education is presented as an important step in…

Activities were undertaken to help correct deficiencies identified in the Long Range Planning and School Improvement (LRPSI) Project in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Diagnostic tests were administered to 800 vocational students to identify those with critical mathematics deficiencies. All instructors were taught interpretation techniques and…

This report is a compilation of presentations made at a symposium which focused on various topics and issues related to the current status of science and mathematics education at the national, state, and local levels. These presentations are: (1) "Growing Recognition of a Serious National Problem in Science Education" by M. Joan Parent…

The performance patterns of about 13,000 Asian/Pacific Islander (API) students in mathematics, written composition, and reading in grades 1 through 6 were examined. Student information was obtained through the Los Angeles Unified School District's data base for the Survey of Essential Skills (May 1982). Predominantly English-speaking, the students…

Specific questions addressed in this study include how time limits affect a test's construct and predictive validities, how time limits affect an examinee's time allocation and test performance, and whether the assumption about how examinees answer items is valid. Interactions involving an examinee's sex and age are studied. Two parallel forms of…

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of parent career variables on student and parent attitudes toward mathematics as a male domain. The investigation was carried out from two different perspectives: comparisons across parent career categories and evaluation of a course model relating the study variables. The subjects were 1,942…