This report presents results of a cross-sectional study of achievement and underachievement in middle and high school (grades 6 to 9) African-American students in five mid-Atlantic school districts in 1995. Interviews with 152 African-American students, of whom 44 were identified as gifted, were conducted. Students were asked about their…

This issue of "The Evaluation Exchange" focuses on out-of-school time (OST). Several authors provide insights into how they, and others, are tackling measurement issues, from using technology and data systems to collect information and track progress, to applying lessons learned from developing early childhood quality measures. Other authors…

The essential purpose of this study is to determine the need for specifically trained personnel to assume the health education responsibilities in college and university health service centers. It also presents a health guide for college and university health service directors. (Author/RK)

Results support the inference that symbolic mediation is a measurably time-consuming process and that temporal factors are involved in the ontogenetic transition from single-link to symbolically mediated behavior. (Author/CB)

Describes an investigation to determine the effectiveness of an eight-month management training program for college graduates conducted by the American Management Association. Examines evaluation criteria, method, measurement instruments, data analysis and results. Charts, tables, references. (Author/RB)

Compared the efficiency of eye-movements of dyslexic children (N=15) while tracking sequential lights. Contrary to Pavlidis (1981) no significant differences were found. In a reply, Pavlidis pointed out methodological differences between the studies. Further comments by the first authors discussed procedures, subject selection, and data analysis.…

In a course entitled "Field Methods for the Study of Education," three themes dominate: professionalism, Darwinian methodology, and application. Unifying these are the notions that the proper use of theory is critical to good ethnography and the natural history/Darwinian paradigm is the central core of the anthropological, ethnological…

A multistrategy approach (involving use of informants to select items, a multidimensional scaling method, factor analysis, and nomological validation) was applied to refine 24 of Collins's locus of control items for use among Hispanic and non-Hispanic subjects. Only the Difficult-Easy World factor was found to be clearly cross-culturally…

Nonprofessional employees in three administrative units at a comprehensive eastern university served as subjects in a study to examine the relationships of perceived participation in decision making, communication with supervisor, employee characteristics, and employee job satisfaction. Implications for personnel decisions and training, employee…

Data gathered in application of Paul Kantor's demand-adjusted shelf availability model to medium-sized academic library indicate significant differences in shelf availability when data are analyzed by last circulation date, acquisition date, and imprint date, and when they are gathered during periods of low and high use. Ten references are cited.…

Described are computer assisted instruction exercises designed by a college professor to help undergraduate psychology students acquire fundamental skills in data collection--recording the data, using tables and graphs, and recognizing functional relationships. (RM)

Presents an analysis of checklist-based research designed to investigate whether particular books, periodicals, and films considered to be controversial by the investigators are owned in certain groups of libraries. Objectives of checklist studies, definitions of self-censorship, compilation of checklists, and interpretation of data are…

Article focuses on planning process used by staff of State University of New York College at Brockport library to develop and implement a user study measuring effectiveness of library's services. The planning model, research committee, sampling design, questionnaire development, and implementation and evaluation of survey are discussed. Twenty-one…

This assessment of the Open University (OU) after its first eight years considers the nature of the demand for the OU, patterns of study, and factors affecting students' progress and graduation, e.g., their occupation and previous educational qualifications. (EAO)

This study of 23 academic libraries investigated variables which affect (and to what extent they affect) librarians' perceptions or evaluations of OCLC as an innovative system. Job security was identified as the single most important factor in technological change. Hypotheses of the study and the survey questionnaire are appended. (EJS)