This study looked at the use of a computer-based voice-interactive language learning system (VOXBOX) for teaching English as a Second Language. The intention of the study was to determine whether students who used VOXBOX as an exclusive instructional method could do as well as or better than students who used non-computerized, teacher-directed…

Recent research casts doubt on the commonly held notions that administrators affect student learning through instructional leadership and that changing administrators will improve school performance. To help construct a model for examining the process of leader succession that specifies a number of major school process and outcome variables…

Abstracts of most of the papers presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) have been collected in this publication. Papers focus on such areas as cognitive structure, development of scientific literacy in secondary schools, science teaching as a career, improving science teaching,…

A brief survey of several comprehensive reviews of studies of the effects of desegregation on black achievement makes it clear that the experts are still in disagreement, and it is in the hope of finally bringing about a consensus on the subject that the National Institute of Education (NIE) has established a representative panel of experts to…

Theoretically preferred item response theory (IRT) bias detection procedures were applied to both a mathematics achievement and vocabulary test. The data were from black seniors and white seniors on the High School and Beyond data files. We wished to account for statistical artifacts by conducting cross-validation or replication studies.…

A study examined the relationship of multiple measures of reading and writing at the second and fifth grade levels. Multiple reading tests (measuring vocabulary, word recognition, sentence comprehension, and passage comprehension) and writing tests (evaluating vocabulary diversity and syntactic complexity, and providing qualitative and…

Perspectives concerning the validation of faculty-developed instruments for the assessment of student performance at Alverno College are presented. Sixteen instruments were identified by departments for the validation studies. Three validation strategies were found to work best. One was a pre- and post-instruction comparison that determined if…

Abilities or competences that ensure effective managerial performance were studied, and a model of effective managerial performance was developed. Performance, perceptions, and careering and professional development of 103 women managers and executives from 53 Milwaukee private corporations were described using a recently developed performance…

A descriptive study examined in detail the student teaching experience in terms of the characteristics and behaviors of cooperating teachers, student teachers, and university supervisors. The interactions, personal and professional, between and among these participants were analyzed, as well as the contexts of the schools and universities in which…

This observer training manual was developed as a central component of a research effort, Changing Teacher Practice (CTP), which was designed to increase the frequency of effective teaching behaviors and staff development strategies in an ongoing school system. The observations focused on two major aspects of classroom teaching--instruction and…

While the need for improved literacy in the work force is generally accepted, questions still remain as to what levels of literacy are required for different jobs and who will provide the necessary adult literacy training. To answer these questions, researchers must develop a database of information about literacy needs and deficiences. Developing…

Research was conducted to investigate the in-school use of results of the Canadian Tests of Basic Skills reading and mathematics batteries administered in the elementary schools of the York Region Board of Education (YRBE). Interviews were conducted with school administrators, guidance counsellors, and teachers. Test uses included reporting…

The Pell Grant Quality Control Study of 1982-83 was designed to identify program error rate, to measure the impact of increased validation activity, and to propose corrective actions to reduce the misallocation of program funds. A sample of approximately 4,000 students was drawn from a stratified random sample of 317 participating institutions.…

Nonresponse issues are investigated for the base year (1988) survey of the United States Department of Education's National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), a national probability sample of middle schools and eighth-grade students in the spring of 1988. The total eighth-grade enrollment for the NELS:88 sample of schools was 203,002;…

One of the most frequently used research methods in education and psychology involves repeated observations on the same individuals. When sample sizes are relatively small and a multivariate analysis lacks power, there are currently two analytical options in testing time effects. One is to assume a time series structure to these observations, and…