This paper discusses the use of latent class structure as a modelling framework for tests in which much of the data conforms to a relatively small number of systematic patterns. Application of this framework to the analysis of tests has been limited because available parameter estimation algorithms can only handle a relatively small number of…

The first purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between changes made during the development of written instruction and the effectiveness of the materials when presented to students. For this purpose, the Written Instruction Stylistic Evaluation was used to assess the comprehensibility of passages before administration of the…

The role of the principal as leader has been a subject of considerable debate and research in education. This study examines the extent of variation in leadership behavior and activities among urban high school principals. Data were collected through interviews with principals and teachers in national samples of urban comprehensive high schools…

To investigate the experience of American and Canadian university libraries with remote access catalogs, self-administered questionnaires were sent to the 137 directors of all Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries and all libraries of Canadian degree-granting institutions. The study was designed to: (1) survey Canadian and U.S.…

A visual display is introduced that enables one to compare the predictive validities of all possible non-negatively weighted sums of two predictors. This two-predictor validity curve assesses the level of predictability of a criterion from composites of two predictors. Derivations are presented for the general case. For illustrative purposes, the…

This paper addresses the demographic and socioeconomic effects on schools of the "new baby boom," consisting of school-age children of the original "baby boomers." The effects of this second-generation demographic trend include a higher proportion of minority students (since the decline in marriage and birth rates among baby…

Using nationally representative data generated by the normal, day-to-day operation of schools, this research tested the major conclusions drawn from case studies focusing on principal effectiveness. On the basis of detailed information regarding individual student characteristics and achievements, detailed characteristics of teachers and their…

Comments are made on the review papers presented by six Dutch psychometricians: Ivo Molenaar, Wim van der Linden, Ed Roskam, Arnold Van den Wollenberg, Gideon Mellenbergh, and Dato de Gruijter. Molenaar has embraced a pragmatic viewpoint on Bayesian methods, using both empirical and pure approaches to solve educational research problems. Molenaar…

This paper reviews the basic elements of the EM approach to estimating item parameters and illustrates its use with one simulated and one real data set. In order to illustrate the use of the BILOG computer program, runs for 1-, 2-, and 3-parameter models are presented for the two sets of data. First is a set of responses from 1,000 persons to five…

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of the expectancy-performance relationship for each sex and to determine whether cross-sex comparisons are appropriate. Students' expectancies for academic performance and the relationship of the expectancies to actual grades were examined. Subjects were 331 students (168 women and 163 men)…

This report includes early tabulations from the 1985 Public School Survey of schools and teachers. The tabulations and figures are prefaced by a description of the survey methodology, indicating what the limitations are on the data and briefly describing sampling variation. The mail sample survey collected information on a nationally…

This report addresses the problem of sample size in developing prediction equations for college freshman grade averages under the American College Testing (ACT) Assessment Program. For the ACT Assessment, the prediction weights are estimated by standard least squares procedures. Because prediction weights are estimated regression coefficients…

The female share of the older work force has nearly doubled since 1950. In 1987, the 6.2 million women aged 55 and over in the labor force constituted 4 of every 10 older workers. Because young women today have a stronger work attachment than did their mothers and grandmothers, the female share of the older work force is likely to continue to…

The sampling errors of maximum likelihood estimates of item-response theory parameters are studied in the case where both people and item parameters are estimated simultaneously. A check on the validity of the standard error formulas is carried out. The effect of varying sample size, test length, and the shape of the ability distribution is…

A conventional verbal ability test and a Bayesian adaptive verbal ability test were compared using a variety of psychometric criteria. Tests were administered to 550 Marine recruits, half of whom received two 30-item alternate forms of a conventional test and half of whom received two 30-item alternate forms of a Bayesian adaptive test. Both types…