Six research papers that have been published by the staff of the Center for Statewide Educational Assessment at Educational Testing Service are presented. In "A Selection of Self Concept Measures," Joan Knapp explores questions of defining and measuring self concept. In another paper, she examines some problems of measuring attitudes toward…

"E-Learning and Virtual Science Centers" addresses an aspect of Web-based education that has not attracted sufficient attention in the international research literature--that of virtual science centers, the cyberspace annex of traditional science centers. It is the first book to be published on the rapidly advancing field of science education.…

The purpose of this research is to determine whether we can use classroom artifacts as the basis for making valid judgments about the presence of reform-oriented teaching practices in middle-school mathematics classes. Our approach compares ratings based on collections of artifacts assembled by teachers according to our directions (the "Scoop…

This volume describes the technical aspects of TIMSS 2003 and summarizes the main activities involved in the development of the data collection instruments, the data collection itself, and the analysis and reporting of the data. The thirteen chapters contained herein are: (1) Overview of TIMSS 2003 (Michael O. Martin and Ina V. S. Mullis); (2)…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to determine who is being served by the Food Stamp Employment and Training Program (FSE&T program), what services are being provided through the program, and what is known about the program's outcomes and effectiveness. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not collect nationwide data on…

As part of its mandate to help the European Commission (EC) define, provide, monitor, and evaluate support to vocational education and training (VET) in regions outside the European Union (EU), the European Training Foundation (ETF) provided assistance to the following areas in 2002: Central and Eastern Europe; the New Independent States and…

This text is designed to enable educators to design, conduct, and report research and evaluation in a way that transforms special education by addressing the needs of persons with disabilities as heterogeneous, cultural groups. The book explores ways to adapt those research methods to the special education context by providing a framework for…

This document contains the 2003 issues of a quarterly newsletter encouraging collaborative research and informed policy on welfare reform and focusing on use of an on-line database of child welfare research projects, as well as on research and policy issues related to implementation studies, indicators of well-being, and administrative data. Each…

This publication focuses on the teaching quality goals and priorities of nine Southeastern U.S. states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee), reviewing each state's Title II proposals. The report highlights seven priority areas of focus for regional alliances: constructing…

This position paper from the District TAG [talented and gifed] Advisory Committee addresses many of the educational issues that are of concern to parents of talented and gifted children in Portland, Oregon. The paper is divided into 16 topical areas, including: (1) identification and assessment; (2) gifted student plans; (3) rate and level…

Considerations in analyzing and surveying the prospects for employment and training in the motor vehicle repair sector were explored by way of the example of France's motor vehicle repair sector. The discussion focused on the need to take the following steps: determine how labor is managed in the sector under consideration; consider the impact of…

This document contains the final report and selected materials and products from Project Learner Goals, a project undertaken to assist the Pennsylvania Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) in describing the form and content of project learner activities (activities serving short-term learner goals) within an ABLE-funded program and,…

A study focused on researchers' use of the English-Language Background Questionnaire (EBQ) portion of the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), the results of which were released in 1993. Data were gathered by surveying NALS data users about how they have used the EBQ data, their perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of the EBQ, and their…

This report examines issues related to the performance indicators used for international comparisons of Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system. Chapter 2 examines main sources of international comparisons of VET and main features of indicator frameworks used for comparisons. Chapter 3 presents an outline of these two main…

Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School, which is located in the rural New England town of Franklin, Massachusetts, is a school of "choice" that students elect to attend. All of the school's 850 students must have a career/technical focus for their studies. Most of Tri-County's ninth-graders are unprepared for high school,…