The statistical properties of two methods of estimating gain scores for groups in quasi-experiments are compared: (1) gains in scores standardized separately for each group; and (2) analysis of covariance with estimated true pretest scores. The fan spread hypothesis is assumed for groups but not necessarily assumed for members of the groups.…

The first section of this paper includes a brief review of adult development literature with a focus on life-stages. A study of 325 adults who completed questions about themselves is also reported. Areas of concern for important proportions of the sample are noted. Adult development programming can begin with these data-supported focal points. The…

The short-term impacts of public community colleges upon the business and government sectors of Maryland's economy were measured through a series of linear cash-flow formulas. In 1976-77, total direct and indirect expenditures attributable to the 17 colleges in areas of salaries, purchase of materials, and capital building improvements were almost…

A synthetic performance test is a job performance test that has been degraded to some degree in the range of tasks covered or in the fidelity of stimulus/response features. Since further development is needed before synthetic performance testing is valid and efficient, this research project focused on three objectives: to (1) identify problems…

The equivalency of achievement results obtained under Title I evaluation models A1 and C1 was examined. Data were reading comprehension and arithmetic scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, administered to fourth, sixth, and eighth grade students in St. Louis, Missouri. The St. Louis Public Schools had traditionally used Model A1, a…

The purpose of the project described here was to devise and test a low-cost model for increasing undergraduate career information in the University of South Florida sociology department. The initial formulation of the model described information exchanges initiated by the sociology department with alumni, community organizations, and other…

The theory of comprehensive educational development is explored in terms of a plan for its implementation at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). The report first discusses the curriculum development model proposed by Taba in 1961 and identifies its curricular, instructional, and faculty development components. A rationale for a…

This booklet presents information to help teachers understand three influences on children's citizenship development and offers practical suggestions to enrich their citizenship education experiences. The three influences on citizenship development are role models (people that children imitate); institutional environments (children's physical,…

Proceedings from the International Summit on Prevention of Mental Retardation from Biomedical Causes are provided. After a list of participants and summary of the highlights of the conference, the keynote address by H. Moser is presented. The following 13 papers are provided along with workshop recommendations and a list of main points elicited…

In response to a low passing rate in a general psychology course taught at Howard Community College (MD), as well as to student and instructor dissatisfaction with the course, a systems model was developed and applied to improve course quality. The development of the model involved nine steps: (1) enumerating precise skill objectives which could…

The paper explores special education in Australia during the period 1970-80. Separate sections discuss the following aspects: (1) beginnings of special education in Australia, (2) early developments in public provision for the education of handicapped children, (3) progress in the provision for special education during 1970-80 (including such…

An experiment was performed with computer-generated data to investigate some of the operational characteristics of tailored testing as they are related to various provisions of the computer program and item pool. With respect to the computer program, two characteristics were varied: the size of the step of increase or decrease in item difficulty…

The writing institute for college writing program directors described in this paper based a student-centered freshman composition course on the central premise that students can only learn to write by writing, since writing is an activity or process. The basic assumptions about the structure of writing classes on which the institute participants…

Philadelphia's Follow Through program in 14 schools was evaluated in terms of its educational, staff development, parent involvement, health services, and social services components. Cross-sectional reading and mathematics achievement data indicated that the Follow Through participants outperformed the non-Follow Through Title I group.…

This paper describes the development and investigation of a new approach to determining the existence of bias in multiple-choice test scores. Previous work in this area has concentrated almost exclusively on bias attributable to specific test items or to differences in test score distributions across racial or ethnic groups. In contrast, the…