A study was conducted to assess and account for high school student aspirations for post-secondary education. This study intends to shed some light as to why or why not a Vermont high school student will aspire to further education, the content of that aspiration, and factors which determine that aspiration. Major topics discussed include: (1)…

The relationship between the Scholastic Aptitude Test of Ontario (S.A.T.O.) administered to twelfth grade students and the College Entrance Examination Board Scholastic Aptitude Test (C.E.E.B.), of which the S.A.T.O. is a modification, was studied. Data was collected through the co-operation of the schools. The S.A.T.O. data was recorded as raw…

Two hundred children (100 girls and 100 boys), kindergarten through fourth grade, were tested with the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) and a newer instrument, the Multi-Choice Conceptual Tempo Apparatus (MCCTA). The MCCTA was more reliable and had stronger negative correlations between errors and latency than did the MFF. The MCCTA did not…

Items from the Laurelton Self Concept Scale (LSCS) and the Locus of Control Scale for Children were administered to 172 male and female educable mental retardates to examine the LSCS by R factor analysis. It was found that the Self Concept Scale is factor analyzable when appropriately administered to educables. The small factors grouped into…

A longitudinal study of 553 children, from kindergarten through grade 4, was conducted to determine whether measures readily available in school districts, taken in kindergarten by classroom teachers, could predict reading achievement on standardized tests in succeeding grades. Scores on the Metropolitan Readiness Test, the Draw-a-Man Test, a…

Two forms of the CEEB English Composition Test and four tests constructed by the University of Illinois Rhetoric department were compared as final examinations for the freshman English composition course. Results from 2545 students indicate that while the CEEB tests discriminate more between students and are more reliable, the departmental tests…

A good criterion-referenced test item is defined as the one which allows the individual to answer correctly if he masters the criterion behavior represented by the item and answer incorrectly if he actually does not master it. Therefore, a good discriminating item for criterion-referenced tests is the one which has a larger proportion of correct…

A new test for auditory perception (Auditory Analysis Test) was given to 284 kindergarten through grade 6 children. The instrument, consisting of 40 items, asks the testee to repeat a spoken word, then to repeat it again without certain specified phonemic elements--such as a beginning, ending or medially-positioned sound. Seven categories of item…

The effectiveness of two techniques of teaching freshman composition is assessed. One technique is the use of extensive written comments on the cover sheet and pages of a theme to inform the writer of his strengths and weaknesses. The other is the use of one class period per theme for the discussion of two or three of the themes written for that…

A variety of path models involving unmeasured variables are formulated in terms of Joreskog's general model for the analysis of covariance structures. (Author)

Because previous reports have suggested that the lowered validity of tests scored with empirical option weights might be explained by a capitalization of the keying procedures on omitting tendencies, a procedure was devised to key options empirically with a "correction-for-guessing" constraint. Use of the new procedure with Graduate…

Factor loadings, used directly or as the basis of binary values, are not appropriate as weights to produce component scores from a rotated solution. A series of examples showing the results of an incorrect measurement of components is given. Several correlation matrices were taken from books on factor analysis and multivariate analysis. Each…

Three techniques for assessing the adequacy of correlation matrices for factor analysis were applied to four examples from the literature. The methods compared were: (1) inspection of the off diagonal elements of the anti-image covariance matrix S(to the 2nd) R(to the -1) and S(to the 2nd); (2) the Measure of Sampling Adequacy (M.S.A.), and (3)…

In order to evaluate the possibility that open education represents a revival of the progressive education movement, data were gathered on the attitude of experienced teachers toward open, progressive, and traditional educational practices. An attitude scale composed of 70 items was administered to a sample of 64 program assistants in the Tucson…

Simple linear correlations, partial correlations, and moderator variable techniques were utilized to investigate the effects of school district size on school district level expenditure and composite achievement. Expenditure data were assembled on more than 500 Michigan districts and achievement data collected on over 300,000 pupils at the fourth…