A complex research and development process is required to study instructional processes and student outcomes effectively. In order to study the instructional process it is essential to select or develop instruments that can describe a total event. Understanding the classroom process necessitates having a record of the environment, the materials,…

Twelve common errors which can invalidate an otherwise sound evaluation are identified, and ways to avoid them are presented. The hazards are: (1) grade-equivalent scores; (2) inappropriate statistical adjustments with nonequivalent control groups; (3) administering norm-referenced tests at inappropriate times of the school year; (4) inappropriate…

The conference panels were organized around three topics: (1) influences of cultural background on test performance; (2) uses and limitations of factor analysis in psychological research; and (3) information which should be provided by test publishers and testing agencies on the validity and use of their tests. Panelists for the first session…

This memorandum demonstrates a variance components methodology for partitioning the overall design effect (D) for a ratio mean into stratification (S), unequal weighting (W), and clustering (C) effects, so that D = WSC. In section 2, a sample selection scheme modeled after the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NKS)…

This chapter outlines the procedures followed in an experimental program for low-achievers during their freshman year at Southern Illinois University. Specifically described are the experimental design, selection of subjects, and the treatment according to the experimental, control, and norm groups. In addition, the sample group is described in…

The third in a series of geography bibliographies published by the Geography Curriculum Project, this bibliography provides an overview of work in the field of geographic education and research according to particular areas of interest from 1965 through July 1975. Three main sources were searched for entries: ERIC Data Base, "Dissertation…

Research, teaching and communications activities of the Program on Information Technologies and Public Policy from September 1973 through September 1974 are reported and summarized. Background information on the program's structure, operating procedure, administration and finances also are provided. Research reports are subdivided by basic…

One of the overriding problems of any psychometric study is that aspects of behavior that are nonquantifiable or difficult to quantify are not considered. The other side of this coin is that those aspects of behavior that are easiest to quantify tend to be what are examined. In evaluating bilingual education programs, problems are found in the…

The goal of the review is to identify the factors which promote student cognitive achievement as measured by several studies conducted in developing countries. The major tool of analysis which measures the relationship between the school inputs, like teacher quality and school facilities, and cognitive achievement is the educational production…

Open classrooms, embodying an educational policy and a setting departing from the traditional is said to provide especially good opportunities for environmental studies. An approach that summarizes a wide range of information on specific classes is a beginning to gathering environmental information useful to the deisgn process. This information…

This essay presents some of the possibilities for doing systematic quantitative research in the field of African public administration and reviews some of the methodological problems involved. The authors argue that quantitative research is especially desirable because of the gains to be achieved in precision, reliability, comparability, and new…

Project TALENT is a large-scale, long-range educational research effort aimed at developing methods for the identification, development, and utilization of human talents, which has involved some 440,000 students in 1,353 public, private, and parochial secondary schools in all parts of the country. Data collected through teacher-administered tests,…

The principal purpose of this study was to investigate methods of teaching dramatic literature; additional information was obtained on the practical problems involved in educational research and the utilization of some basic aspects of fractional factorial design. Disagreement between English teachers and professional theatre personnel about the…

The purpose of this manual is to present some principles useful in the systematic improvement of instruction. Nine chapters present a methodical approach to the design, implementation, and measurement of the effectiveness of an instructional system. The first four chapters concern themselves with the development of an instructional system,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a sequenced, highly-structured direct instruction program in language and reading skills on the intellectual growth, academic achievement, and school adjustment of 303 middle class kindergarten children. Children were assigned to one of four treatment groups: a "direct verbal"…