This paper summarizes an analysis in which disparate information tools and systems within the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), Wisconsin, were compared and contrasted from the viewpoint of whether or not those tools provide users with the unique functional requirements associated with using data in the context of decision making. MPS has a…

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of graphing technology for the teaching of mathematics. This interest has been, in part, sparked by the recommendations of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards and "Everybody Counts: A Report to the Nation on the Future of Mathematics Education."…

The study involved implementing and evaluating activities that actively engage students in the process of gathering, processing and analyzing data derived from human body measurements, with students using their prior knowledge acquired in science, mathematics, and computer classes to interpret this information. In the classroom activities…

This guide to program evaluation presents questions that illuminate aspects of the evaluation process. Issues to consider in program evaluation are: (1) the intended results of the program; (2) hypotheses about the possible results of the program; (3) the types of data that will indicate achievement of the intended results and the variables that…

This publication presents information on how neighborhood residents can be involved in collecting needed information about their community which they can use to guide reform efforts. Researchers interviewed people with experience collecting information at the neighborhood level, other researchers, leaders of community based organizations, and…

Data collecting forms are provided for conducting a public school safety assessment screening inventory for the school's physical, social, and cultural environment. Data sheets assess traffic control, surveillance, access control, safety devices and equipment, and safety provisions and planning. Directions for using the assessment forms are…

The Wilderness Risk Managers Committee (WRMC), a consortium of outdoor schools and organizations, works toward better understanding and management of risks in the wilderness. Among other activities, the WRMC gathers data on incidents and accidents from member organizations and other wilderness-based programs. This book compiles incident data for…

Libraries and information agencies depend heavily on statistics to describe their services, evaluate their activities, and measure their performance. In the data gathering on which statistical analysis depends, there are always assumptions and uncontrolled variables that interfere with the purity and objectivity of the data, and therefore…

There is increasing concern among child care providers and states as to whether the methodology and data collection mechanisms of the various market rate surveys used by each state accurately capture the rates charged by child care providers. This paper examines issues related to market rate surveys as the customary method of determining…

School-linked services are one program approach seeking to address concerns about fragmented and duplicative services by offering the school site as a single point of entry. Most of these programs display a holistic approach to children, joint planning, shared service delivery, and collaboration or coordination. Determining how school-linked…

This document provides background information related to the 1990 Census Mapping Project to assist in evaluating the processes, products, users, and users of data from that program as part of the planning activity for the corresponding Census 2000 activity. Analysis of the data items frequently used, with particular attention to the School…

This report summarizes tasks undertaken to assess the feasibility of a longitudinal analysis of elementary and secondary schools. The initial objective was to see if it was technically possible to analyze overlap samples of schools from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to produce substantive findings. Over the course of the project various…

Teaching is a reflective and deeply human activity, an ethical enterprise that involves the teacher as a person. The educational significance of autobiography lies in its ability to enable people to understand their present experiences and those yet to occur. Teacher-educators' interest in autobiography is very narrowly defined: the professional…

Alumni surveys were sent to one-year alumni from a large, public research university to determine the survey format that resulted in the best response rates and the least response bias. Surveys differed in whether they were check-box or machine-scannable (optical mark recognition, or OMR) and in whether it was possible to use a Web site to…

The 61st edition of the "Texas Almanac" has a reputation as the definitive source for Texas information since 1857. It contains details of the Census 2000 official population count, including statewide, county and town counts, plus an analysis of the numbers by experts at Texas's State Data Center. It includes information about politics,…