Hearings on the 1990 Decennial Census were held on May 1, 1986, and May 15, 1986. The May 1 session focused on data processing procedures. Speakers included John G. Keane, Daniel G. Horvitz, William Eddy, Judith S. Rowe, Benjamin F. King, and Stephen E. Fienberg. Topics included automation of address files and questionnaire check-in; dissemination…

An ideal system of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), from the local school district perspective, must follow several principles based on the 1985 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing: (1) Testing must be viewed by teachers and students as worthwhile. (2) Test results must be presented in a timely and useful…

The thesis of this paper is that the decision to use one of three approaches to unit-of-analysis in educational research should be based on substantive considerations, not statistical factors. In addition to the commonly used "total analysis" (regression analysis across individuals), the within and between analyses are inherent in the…

These four papers focus on a consideration of the costs of evaluation, as examined in the Evaluation Use Project. "A Framework for Estimating Evaluation Costs," by Marvin Alkin and Brian Stecher, considers overall theory and draws on previous research in determing evaluation costs. The concepts are extended to develop informal quidelines…

When establishing statewide and nationally comparable educational evaluation and assessment systems, state education agencies (SEAs) must consider factors affecting policy in at least four areas. First, the full range of purposes for establishing such a system should be clarified. It must be decided whether the system exists to provide data for…

Curriculum behavioral objectives for metric programs in grades K-8 are listed in this document. The objectives are organized according to topic and coded for grade level. The topics covered are: (1) language development; (2) comparison and ordering; (3) measurement/length; (4) measurement/volume; (5) measurement/man; (6) measurement/temperature;…

After reviewing the history and evolution of criterion referenced tests and citing the writings of other researchers, the author summarizes the current state of criterion referenced tests. They are used to measure an individual's status with respect to a well-defined behavior domain; the behavior domain can be well-ordered, structured, or…

This study is a two-part analysis aimed at determining what differences occur in the incidence of poverty when different definitions of income are employed and when the time frame of analysis is changed. The first part of the analysis concentrates on school-aged children, while the second part studies families. The study is based on data from the…

This study discusses the relevance of social indicators for usage by less developed countries, examines the contexts in both the less and more developed countries with which social indicator methodologies must be compatible, and proposes a functional theory of society and societal development which offers a meaningful approach to social indicator…

This paper proposes an evaluation design for Mercer County, West Virginia's state funded early childhood education program, which was initiated to replace independent kindergarten programs. An introductory discussion lists the broad goals of the program, three data collection time schedules, program variables that define the model of the program,…

This manual provides a suggested outline for a series of three workshops evolving from the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment's "School Report: A Status Profile" and "Manual for Interpreting School Reports" (both based on the Ten Goals of Quality Education). In addition to the workshops, the following are discussed: (a) Act 299--the…

This paper was commissioned to develop new perspectives on the evaluation of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) for Citizenship and Social Studies. It criticizes the assessment model and advocates three new approaches to evaluating social studies education: a comparative approach with direct international comparisons of programs…

The objectives of this project were to 1) identify objectives in 14 existing computer based resource units which had no appropriate measuring devices, 2) formulate at least three measuring devices for each such objective, and 3) to enter all data into the computer based resource unit data bank for subsequent dissemination. The strategies and their…

Because of misconceptions regarding appropriate measurement strategies, it is necessary to draw distinctions between two major measurement methodologies, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced measurement, as they relate to determining basic academic capabilities. Norm-referenced measures are used to ascertain an individual's performance in…

Based on the learning theories of Benjamin S. Bloom, the program described in this report aims to help students develop basic skills for success in college work. The program, created for Virginia Highlands Community College, centers around English and mathematics learning laboratories. All students can enroll in regular college level courses, but…