This study examines the development of children's preference for task difficulty levels. Subjects were 78 boys and 66 girls, aged 63 to 105 months. The sample was separated into older and younger groups. Within each age group, half the children of each sex were randomly assigned to one of two forms to test their level of aspiration. Subjects were…

A solution is proposed for analysis of variance procedures with missing cells, such as may occur when a control group is not assigned to any of the rows or columns of the various experimental groups. Mathematical models for two-way design are presented which define several variables; as well as row effect, column effect, and row and column…

In large-scale surveys, it is no longer uncommon for repeated measurements to be obtained from respondents and analyses performed to gauge the magnitiude of nonsampling errors. This is particularly true for periodic surveys and longitudinal surveys where a very large investment in data collection is made. This technical note, aimed at the analysis…

Important aspects of field research in education were discussed at this seminar. A wide spectrum of topics included the theoretical foundations of field methodology, information gathering, access, validity, reliability, interpretation and explanation, limits of methods, ethical issues, and approaches to write-up and presentation of data. Four…

The Mahalanobis distance model was compared with the linear discriminant function model and found to provide very similar results, even when a number of the variables were binary. A group of college freshmen were categorized into two groups: 116 "leavers," students who did not return for the second year, and 269 "returners."…

Three different approaches to metaevaluation are described and shown to have been applied to the study of Project Follow Through. These approaches include evaluation of primary evaluations, integrative meta-analysis in which results from several primary evaluations are combined, and secondary analysis involving the independent reanalysis of the…

This study explores the existence of a continuum of sexual aggression among males and a corresponding continuum of sexual victimization among females. A 12-question Sexual Experiences Survey written in parallel versions for men and women was administered to 3,862 university students. Three levels of sexual aggression/victimization ranging from…

This document is the final report of the Interactive Research and Development on Teaching (IR&DT) study on the implementation of educational research in actual site locations. Two teams of teachers, researchers, and trainer/developers spent fifteen-and-one-half months implementing the IR&DT at two sites in Vermont and California. Their…

RISK TAKING ON OBJECTIVE EXAMINATIONS (RTOOE) OCCURS WHENEVER AN EXAMINEE TAKES AN EXAMINATION WITH PENALTIES FOR INCORRECT RESPONSES, AND RESPONDS TO AN ITEM WITHOUT KNOWING THE CORRECT ANSWER WITH CERTAINTY. THIS PROJECT WAS CONCERNED WITH THREE ASPECTS OF RTOOE--(1) ITS MEASUREMENT, (2) ITS GENERALITY, AND (3) ITS EFFECT ON TEST SCORE. IN THE…

This paper addresses four issues in the design and execution of behavioral observation in classrooms. These four issues relate to the consequences of using different observation intervals, schedules of observation, student sampling methods, and definitions of on-task and off-task behavior for reliability, means, and correlations of time on-task…

The organization of data at the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is undergoing a significant transition from a system designed only for national assessment purposes to one designed both for assessment and a variety of academic research interests. The advent of NAEP public-use data files opens up many possibilities for those who…

In view of a demand for information and an expansion in evaluation research practices, possibilities for combining quantitative and qualitative methods in program evaluation should be explored. Quantitative research methods attempt to reduce observed social phenomena to numerical notations. Their weaknesses include the reduction of social…

This report is one of five submitted as products of a "Study Designed to Assist Planning of Research on Significant Instructional Features in Bilingual Education Programs." The reports are intended to assist the National Institute of Education (NIE) in its plans for a major new research study in bilingual education. The present report is…

A meta-analysis of 29 separate studies investigating pretest effects was conducted. Outcomes of the studies (achievement gains or attitude improvements) were computed as standardized differences between pretested and non-pretested groups. Eleven other variables were coded for each outcome. Initial descriptive statistics were indicative of…

Corporate advocacy is the study and practice of communication efforts to advance the policies of business, education, governmental, and nonprofit institutions. The functions of the advocate include gathering information, providing advice based on the information, conducting advocacy programing, and evaluating results. Advocacy research is…