In longitudinal studies, the same variables must be measured, in the same way, on at least two occasions. Research personnel are very important in keeping the necessary continuity of the procedures and the comparability of the measurements over time. As staff turnover can create serious problems, this paper suggests several strategies for reducing…

This paper reports the process by which Anne Arundel County Public Schools evaluated its mathematics program. The steps are outlined by which the evaluation was initiated, designed, implemented, and reported. The procedures developed to address and implement the evaluation findings and recommendations are described. The evaluation was intitiated…

Problems involved in providing practical research experience in research methods courses are discussed. The two points in the research process where time is most critical are selecting measures and data collection. This paper suggests using a data base from previous research and having students conduct simulated studies based on randomly selected…

A group of teachers and researchers organized the Written Literacy Forum (WLF) to investigate how research on writing instruction could be made more practical for educators. WLF examined common research assumptions and their effects on formal research presentations, highlighting the surprising lack of effort by researchers to talk with teachers…

The efficacy of the random digit dialing method in telephone surveys was examined. Random digit dialing (RDD) generates a pure random sample and provides the advantage of including unlisted phone numbers, as well as numbers which are too new to be listed. Its disadvantage is that it generates a major proportion of nonworking and business…

This document describes a supplemental survey of staff in approximately half of the original sample of 1,015 schools that participated in the base year survey of the High School and Beyond Survey (HSB). The survey was designed to obtain measures of school goals and processes that effective schools literature indicates are important in achieving…

This paper argues that there will be greater use of independent learning and distance education in the future combined with increased use of technology due to the demand for continuing adult education and new methods of teaching. Research into new technology in education will become a priority as the use of technology will require large-scale…

To assess the condition of American education in the next decade, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) should focus on collecting data in the following major areas: (1) the quality and quantity of time that is allocated to various activities in the classroom; (2) the concerns of teachers, including their working conditions and time…

Efforts to achieve greater decentralization, deregulation, and management by objectives in the public sector have left an indelible mark on the school sector in Sweden during the 1980s. The experimental scheme of local agencies and free municipalities illustrates two such reforms. Under the free municipality experiment, a number of municipalities…

This report describes a pilot project to develop a Cooperative System for Public Library Data Collection, which would enable the Center for Education Statistics (CES) of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement to issue national statistical reports on public libraries by using data collected by state library agencies in their annual…

The structure and documentation of High School and Beyond First Follow-Up data files represent a departure from Base Year practices. The Base Year student file contains data from both the senior and sophomore cohorts. Due to the more complex design of the First Follow-Up and resulting increase in the volume of available data, separate First…

Two problems are encountered by faculty when teaching introductory social science courses. First, most students are only passive recipients of the information made available to them; second, they seldom appreciate the relevance of this information to their own lives. The primary objective of the project described in this paper is to involve…

This review of the literature on interactive video examines research and evaluation reports in the context of the continuing debate over the effectiveness of media debate and Richard E. Clark's argument that media do not have a substantial impact on learning. The literature is examined from four perspectives: (1) behavioral issues (e.g., whether…

Certain representations of basic scientific knowledge can be coupled with traditional micro-economic analysis to provide an analysis of rational research planning or agenda setting in basic science. Research planning is conceived of as a resource allocation decision in which resources are being allocated to activities directed toward the solution…

Part of a volume which explores current issues in service delivery to infants and toddlers (ages birth to 3) with handicapping conditions, this chapter presents program evaluation as a comprehensive process comprising three phases: input, process, and output. Three program evaluation models are summarized: Tyler's objective model, Scriven's…