Written comments on student evaluations often seem idiosyncratic, lacking the power of numerical statistical data. These statements, however, may sometimes reveal intellectual challenges common to novice learners in our disciplines. Instructors can use these insights as part of a scholarly approach to teaching, making meaningful adjustments to…

When the American Council of Learned Societies held its annual meeting in Montreal last week, topics such as open access, scholarly publishing, and "The Global Academy and the Geography of Ideas" figured on the agenda. This article discusses the first item of business at the meeting: the debut of the Humanities Indicators project, with a first set…

This study set out to identify the kinds of achievement orientations that adolescents show, and to examine the kinds of antecedents and consequences the use of a particular orientation has. The participants were 734 Swedish adolescents (335 boys and 399 girls) who filled in questionnaires measuring their achievement beliefs and behaviors,…

The risk of investment in schooling has largely been ignored. We mimic the investment decision facing a student and simulate risky earnings profiles in alternative options, with parameters taken from the very limited evidence. The distribution of rates of return appears positively skewed. Our best estimate of "ex ante" risk in university education…

One of the lightning rods in the discourse over teacher pay has been the question of "how much" teachers should be paid. What the "how much" debate does not directly address, however, is the question of "how" teachers should be paid. This paper attempts to help lay groundwork for a better understanding of what exactly teachers want in terms of how…

"Projections of Education Statistics to 2018" is the 37th report in a series begun in 1964. It includes statistics on elementary and secondary schools and degree-granting institutions. Included are projections of enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures to the year 2018. This is the first edition of the "Projections of…

Past estimates of the effect of family income on child development have often been plagued by endogeneity and measurement error. In this paper, we use two simulated instrumental variables strategies to estimate the causal effect of income on children's math and reading achievement. Our identification derives from the large, non-linear changes…

Issues 256 through 265 of "Fast Facts" from the Library Research Service present data collected from libraries in Colorado and throughout the nation. Topics addressed in these "Fast Facts" from 2008 include computer usage by public library patrons, Colorado summer reading programs, children's' use of public libraries, and the…

This article discusses the evaluation of student performance in physical education. (JS)

Experimentation with graphical methods for data presentation is important for improving graphical communication in science. Several graphical methods are discussed including full scale breaks, dot charts, and multibased logging. Full scale breaks are suggested as replacements for partial scale breaks since partial scale breaks can fail to provide…

Some sources of information on scientific and technical data centers are mentioned, and recent publications of a few federally supported data centers in physical sciences are listed. (Author/PF)

The position of industry vs. that of Government-labor-ACS on the proposed work-place standard for vinyl chloride is specified. (DT)