A mathematical model is proposed to describe how group differences in distributions of abilities, which are distinct from the target ability, influence the probability of a correct item response. In the multidimensional approach, differential item functioning is considered a function of the educational histories of the examinees. (SLD)

An example of semantic pattern analysis, based on keywords selected from documents grouped by bibliographical coupling, is used to demonstrate the methodological aspects of knowledge discovery in bibliographic databases. Frequency distribution patterns suggest the existence of a common intellectual base with a wide range of specialties and…

Using data from Thailand's National Labor Force Surveys, this paper describes changes in the distribution of educational attainment among young men and women, and assesses changes in the returns to schooling. The results show that the average educational attainment of the population increased between 1985 and 1998, and that the inequities in…

Our primary goal is to design a micro world which aspires to research thinking-in-change about distribution. Our premise, in line with a constructivist approach and our prior research, is that thinking about distribution must develop from causal meanings already established. This study reports on a design research study of how students appear to…

We analyze why child poverty rates were much higher in Britain than in Western Germany during the 1990s, using a framework focusing on poverty transition rates. Child poverty exit rates were significantly lower, and poverty entry rates significantly higher, in Britain. We decompose these cross-national differences into differences in the…

It is commonly assumed that environmentalism harms national economies because environmental regulations constrain economic activity and create incentives for firms to move production and investment to other countries. We point out that global environmentalism involves large-scale institutional changes that: (1) encourage new kinds of economic…

This study focused on gender differences in scores on the American College Testing Program (ACT) assessment in mathematics for a large sample of U.S. high school graduates (over 1,700,000) and a sample of 321 Chinese twelfth graders. A smaller gender difference was found for the Chinese sample than for the U.S. sample. However, a similar pattern…

Responses to previously calibrated items administered in a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) mode may be used to recalibrate the items. This live-data simulation study investigated the possibility, and limitations, of on-line adaptive recalibration of precalibrated items. Responses to items of a Rasch-based paper-and-pencil licensure examination…

The Jackson Municipal Separate School District, Mississippi, has instituted a mixed-criteria reduction-in-force procedure emphasizing classroom performance to a greater degree than seniority, certification, and staff development participation. The district evaluation process--measuring classroom teaching performance--generated data for the present…

This paper examines a broad set of beliefs about achievement and the relationship of those beliefs to performance and future plans in mathematics and English. The two main purposes of the analysis are (1) to assess gender and grade-level differences in children's achievement beliefs as they proceed through junior and senior high school, and (2) to…

This study investigated the delayed effects of LOGO programing on the cognitive abilities and achievement of children in the primary grades. Results of tests administered 18 months after first graders participated in either LOGO computer programing or computer-assisted instruction treatments and interviews five months after testing are reported…

Wisconsin's guaranteed tax base equalization formula has no direct adjustment for the additional costs of educating poverty level pupils. This paper establishes the need for an adjustment and examines three measures (based on varying poverty definitions) to determine which provides the most equitable funding formula for educating poor children. (9…

Survey of Ohio State University faculty members and administrators examines their attitudes and perceptions regarding need for, and potential use of, a computerized database to increase efficiency of graduate school administration, and to collect and generate data for academic departments' use in improving programs. Proposed database design is…

In the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) region, state and local governments spend about 10 percent of their combined annual budgets on colleges and universities. Whether this is the right funding level during a time of growing enrollments, when states are working to boost education participation and close achievement gaps, is a question…

This study sought to call attention to the rather massive increases in the enrollment of new degree-seeking students that have occurred at the University of South Florida (USF) in recent years. Over a four-year period (1997-98 to 2001-02), USF, a large multi-campus metropolitan university in Tampa, Florida, saw the number of annual new…