This report addresses some of the concerns surrounding smaller classes and looks at whether reduced class sizes result in higher achievement levels, and concludes that it in fact does increase student achievement, so long as classes do not exceed 17 students. But many critics question whether the high cost of reducing classes to 17 or fewer…

As poverty, dysfunctional families, and special needs continue to affect students, educators seek improved ways to start children in formal education. One such approach is to lower the teacher-to-pupil ratios, and recent research shows that this method positively influences pupil achievement. How the process works is not well understood. To fill…

This paper conceptually explains higher-order factor analysis and methods for interpretation. A review of first-order factor analysis is presented that provides the foundation for the summary of second-order factor analysis. Higher order factors are derived from the correlations between the lower-level factors. An example study is provided to make…

This book focuses on the relevance of statistics in the day-to-day lives of principals and teachers. The step-by-step guide to using existing school data can help school leaders make more appropriate and effective decisions. The information is presented with easy-to-follow instructions, illustrations, and pertinent examples. The chapters are: (1)…

This paper reports on a study that examined students' self-reported enjoyment level as an indication of student success. A total of 169 subjects who were learning totally via the Internet were chosen from master's students in the School of Library and Information Sciences at the University of North Texas. The following questions were addressed:…

This bulletin is one of a series reporting the findings of investigations undertaken during 1936-37 under the Project in Research in Universities of the Office of Education. The project was financed under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, and conducted in accordance with administrative regulations of the Works Progress…

This "Instructor's Guide" provides trainers with an outline for the teaching of the School Readiness and Health module. Participants will be introduced to the concept of school readiness and will learn about the importance of health to school readiness. Participants will learn how Child Care Health Advocates (CCHAs) can support best practices for…

Correspondences between ACT[superscript TM] and SAT[superscript R] I scores are presented from a conceptual framework that distinguishes among three kinds of correspondences, namely, equating, scaling, and prediction. Construct similarity plays an important role in determining the nature and degree of correspondence that can be achieved. This…

Improving the quality of education is a constant concern of national policy-makers. Evaluation of the education offered pupils is one of the means by which this aim may be achieved. Such evaluation may assume several forms depending on the components subject to investigation, whether they be the processes activated by teachers, the tasks assumed…

Reports results of a comparison of correlational and multidimensional scaling techniques as tools for analyzing the perceptions of three groups of mathematics teachers (at high school, vocational school, and university levels) of the relative importance of curricular objectives. Discusses the relationship of the two analyses and the implications…

Evaluated the Screening Test of Academic Readiness (STAR) using a sample of 28 third graders. The third graders' scores on the Peabody Individual Achievement Test were correlated with their total STAR scores from prekindergarten testing. Results showed the STAR is a useful instrument for predicting third grade achievement. (Author/JAC)

Reading deficits among elementary-aged learning disabled children with suspected neurocognitive dysfunctions were calculated. The children were grouped according to IQ profiles. Results indicated that the pattern of high verbal-low performance IQs was associated with the least deficiency in reading ; this association was evident as early as second…

Discusses predictive and conceptual validity, reports on two experiments on each type of test validity with relation to language tests, and indicates some problems posed by these two forms of evaluation. (AM)

Reports on research that confounds normal expectations concerning the teacher behavior that encourages student achievement and self-concept development. For instance, using praise or rewards and pausing, eliciting, and responding to student questions were negatively correlated to student achievement gains. (IRT)