As an integral part of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) the School Administrator Questionnaire has been used to collect information from public and private school administrators regarding their demographic characteristics, academic background, professional training, and…

In the 1970s and 1980s, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) built a longitudinal record as the Nation's Report Card based on periodic brief assessments of a modest but representative sample of the nation's students. In 1990, data collection was expanded from a sample of 10,000 students in each grade and subject area to 100,000…

This report presents survey findings about the U.S. charter school system that were collected from 280 schools in 19 states with over 80,000 students. The two-part report examines the responses to a short list of questions about facility costs and growth plans, and it explores information provided by a subset of schools (118 institutions) that…

This report describes a national telephone survey of randomly selected middle and high school principals to measure the impact of school-uniform dress codes on perceived level of school violence. In addition to measuring the impact of school uniforms on principals' perception of violence, selected variables such as region, gender, and educational…

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a telephone interview survey that has been conducted in the spring of 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, and 1999. The 1999 NHES was a compilation of survey items from previous years that included three interviews, resulting in three data files. One of these components was the Youth Interview, in which…

This study aimed to describe, compare, and analyze the use of specific types of data utilized in decision-making by administrators of more and less effective community colleges. The study utilized a modified version of Kim Cameron's "Assessment of Organizational Effectiveness on Higher Education" to measure and rank community college…

The results from high-stakes assessments have often been used to merely grade and rank schools and students. But a new trend is emerging, according to this brief. Educators are beginning to see the power of using assessment data to improve instruction. This brief discusses ways to use data to improve instruction at the school, classroom, and…

This report to Congress examines issues in the transition of students with disabilities into postsecondary education or employment. Major findings are: (1) most IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) youth complete high school, but data on transitions are limited; (2) problems impeding the transition of IDEA youth into postsecondary…

This paper demonstrates that an electronic tutoring program can collect data that enables a far more reliable assessment of students' skills than a standard examination. Socratic electronic homework tutor, CyberTutor can integrate effectively instruction and assessment. CyberTutor assessment has about 62 times less variance due to random test…

This 20-minute videotape features 2 schools that have maintained a school culture based on using myriad data sources and processes to fuel their school-improvement activities. In the video the voices of teachers and administrators in each school articulate the ways they have used data to improve student achievement. They highlight numerous data…

This training module presents a social skills curriculum designed to be utilized as a tool for parents and teachers to increase levels of interaction between preschool children with and without autism. The curriculum consists of five social skills that were chosen based on evidence suggesting that they tend to result in more lengthy interactions…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on research methods in human resource development (HRD) that was conducted as part of a conference on HRD. "Utilizing Electronic Mail To Survey Human Resource Development Practitioners: A Comparison between Electronic Mail and the U.S. Postal Service for the Purpose of Data Collection:…

This annual report provides information about dropouts in Texas public schools for the 1996-97 school year. The report includes (1) historical dropout information; (2) a summary of dropout rates based on dropout characteristics and school district characteristics; (3) a listing of dropout rates broken down by county, district, and campus; and (4)…

The teacher's guide of "Assessing Toxic Risk" aims to help students conduct scientific research on relevant environmental topics. Using the research protocols in this book, students learn to carry out experiments known as bioassays. In this way, the toxicity of substances is evaluated by measuring its effect on living things. The text is…

The goal of the Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse is to uphold the principles of the Library Bill of Rights in all types of libraries by improving communication between librarians, board members, professional associations, and other concerned groups in Oregon about challenges to intellectual freedom, and by increasing awareness as to how…