After offering some possible explanations for the existing inadequacies in evaluating organizational training programs, the authors discuss several evaluation issues, particularly internal validity. Methods for overcoming evaluation inadequacies and the implications for better controlled evaluation designs are also covered. (EM)

The Canadian Public Service Commission conducted an experimental course using the communication technology satellite for the experimental group and a conventional classroom for the control group. Both groups of forty managers had the same subject matter and used the same student-directed learning methodology. The article contains observations on…

The estimation and evaluation of the effects of alternative educational or social policies is a major purpose of decision oriented, comparative evaluation studies. This paper reviews the rationale underlying the definition and interpretation of various measures of effect magnitude and examines their relevance to evalution research. (Author)

This article discusses the circumstances under which unequal sample size in the two-group study can arise and result in an attenuated point-biserial correlation. Formulas are provided for correcting the coefficient either directly or through the mediation of relevant statistics found in studies where the coefficient itself is not reported.…

This paper is concerned with the construction of effect size standard errors in situations where the effect sizes are independent but the data have likely been sampled from non-normal distributions, and possibly for different studies, from different families of non-normal distributions. Asymptotic distribution-free estimators are provided for two…

The effects of age and education on Halstead test performance were examined in this cross-validation of the Vega and Parsons study. Differences between correlation in psychiatric patients and medical-surgical control subjects are discussed, as is the importance of age, and differences in reference groups when making clinical inferences about brain…

Compares academic results of teaching an experimental class of sophomores using a methodology of dyadic mode learning with a control class of sophomores and examines the potential uses and characteristics of the group relationships in dyadic mode learning for university level work in a full semester's courses. (Author/RK)

Forty Canadian Indian children in grades three and four were divided into two groups and given a minimum and a maximum remediation program to improve their sequential learning processes. The maximum program resulted in significant improvement in sequential tasks such as auditory and visual memory and reading tests. (JC)

There is currently a great deal of controversy about a critical issue in educational research: What constitutes valid evidence for determining whether educational innovations are effective? One side of the controversy is reflected in the U.S. Department of Education's current policies and funding programs. This side emphasizes methodological…

Within-class experimental designs (with experimental and control groups in the same classroom) are subject to diffusion effects whereby both experimental and control students benefit from the intervention, thereby contaminating the control group and biasing evaluations of intervention effects. In support of diffusion effects, this study shows that…

Results show that the retarded group was significantly more cooperative than the nonretarded group, and the 6-7 year retarded group was more cooperative than the 11-12-year retarded group. (Authors/CB)

This research was aimed at adapting the Utah State University Classroom Management Program for use in elementary mainstreaming classrooms and evaluating the program's effectiveness in changing teacher and pupil behavior. The program appears to be powerful in changing teacher behavior and an effective classroom management training tool. (Author/AL)

Groups of adolescent, math-anxious girls were either tutored in mathematics, tutored with self-instruction to reduce anxiety, or received no treatment. Tutoring and self-instruction resulted in increased ranked preferences for math, while math achievement increased more for the self-instruction group. (Author/GK)

A model is presented to demonstrate that systematic evaluation by design or planned, purposeful evaluation of recreational programs is possible. The evaluation model concepts of control group, randomization, and pretest and posttest are explained. (JN)