Instructional Accomplishment Information (IAI) Systems data bases provide the opportunity for new and powerful studies relevant to educational policy issues at a local and/or national level. This report discusses the methodology for "schooling policy studies." The procedures are illustrated using a yet-to-be-completed analysis of the Los…

An analysis was conducted of two large samples of 13- and 17-year-old students (N=7,928) who were assessed by the National Assessment of Educational Progress during the 1977-78 and 1981-82 mathematics assessments. A group of 18 statements about math were used to construct a math attitude index. A multivariate log-linear analysis included gender,…

A study was made of the extent of South African Indians', coloreds', and Whites' familiarity with the concept of parent training (PT) and the availability of PT facilities. A stratified random sample of 1,500 persons from each group was drawn for a total sample of 4,500, and data from the 2,793 questionnaires returned were analyzed. Findings…

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington administered a 1986 University Union Spring Survey to 404 residential and nonresidential students to monitor student preferences and to evaluate their satisfaction with selected aspects of services and programs within the student union. The results revealed that students considered notices in their…

This report combines the techniques of multistate life table analysis with the human capital theory of wages to derive new estimates of the impact of children on hours of market work and earnings for American women aged 15 to 55 years old. The impact of fertility on female labor force behavior is analyzed, and opportunity expenditures (the money…

This paper examines the process of educational achievement for a birth cohort of Baltimore children who were followed prospectively during their first grade year. The analysis, which employed a social-psychological model of the early schooling process, identified some of the personal, interpersonal, and situational factors that influence cognitive…

Our culture draws lines between "races" in a variety of ways. Professional scholars and society in general each have their own set of aims and methods for dividing by race. The professional classifiers have been at times inconsistent and fallacious in their methods. The scientific classifiers (physical anthropologists, for example) assume an…

This report presents results of a concurrent validation study for the Chicago District Council of Carpenters Apprentice and Trainee Program. Its purpose was to develop a fair screening device for applicant selection. Advanced apprentice carpenters in three specialities--construction, cabinet making, and floor covering--were administered the Ball…

As the 21st century rapidly approaches, America will be directly confronted with the reality that its nationwide public education system has failed to adequately and accurately train its future generation of citizens. Socioeconomic status and race have been implicated as the two biggest factors related to dropping out. Current researchers have…

Reported are background information and initial analyses of Tennessee's Project STAR, a legislatively authorized study of class size. The aim of the project was to identify causes and effects of differences in elementary school class size. Primary analyses were conducted on kindergarten data for 1985-1986. During that year, 42 school districts and…

Information on the ancestry, languages, and literacy of the U.S. population based on data collected by the Bureau of the Census in 1979 is reported. Items surveyed include ancestry, country of birth of the individual and parents, citizenship, year of immigration, native language, language spoken in the home, ability to speak English, and ability…

Studies that included either gender or race in assessing the nature of friendships for children and adolescents were reviewed. Findings indicate that a sex and race cleavage in friendships is evident from the preschool years and persists throughout adolescence. Girls have more reciprocated and intimate friendships than boys, especially during…

The comparative status of black and white children in America is described in this report, which is divided into two major parts. Part 1 contains an overview of key facts and trends which support the book's main point that the welfare of black children is currently declining, and a proposal for a legislative agenda for the Ninety-ninth Congress,…

The Science Assessment Research Project assessed the science achievement and attitudes of 18,000 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students nationwide. This study investigated the attitudes of a random sample of 1,955 17-year-old students' attitudes toward women in science as indicated by responses to seven Likert items administered during the assessment.…

In an attempt to understand the determinants of early sexual activity, a series of papers were completed using data on 15 and 16-year-olds from the 1981 National Survey of Children. These five papers focus on the association between early sexual activity and, respectively, household structure; television viewing; sex education; race; and…