This technical report and user's guide is designed to provide researchers with an overview of the design and implementation of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), as well as with information on how to access the PISA 2009 data. This information is meant to supplement that presented in Organization for Economic Cooperation…

Reports on a controlled experiment that compared cloze procedure (human tendency to complete a familiar but not quite finished pattern) and comprehension quiz as measures of computer program understanding. Program comprehension measures, experimental materials, administration, and results are highlighted. Twenty-six references and sample questions…

This report describes recent efforts to modify, test, and evaluate an experimental online database consisting of 15 vendor-supplied, controlled subject vocabularies or thesauri. The experimental database, called the Vocabulary Switching System (VSS), is designed to enhance search strategies and ultimately retrieval performance for users of online…

The data presented in this combined report--"Rankings & Estimates"--provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. As one might expect in a nation as diverse as the United States--with respect to economics, geography, and politics--the level of commitment to…

A survey of 113 Texas libraries examined characteristics of reference positions to determine whether there were important similarities and differences between public and academic libraries in the areas of professional qualifications for employment; job skills and responsibilities; work scheduling; benefits; and departmental characteristics. The…

Describes a study that examined the similarities and differences in computer related attitudes between sixth grade boys and girls of different mathematics achievement levels. Students' responses to questions about self-confidence in their computer abilities, the utility of computers, and general attitudes toward computers are reported and…

A project involving the evaluation of microcomputer courseware being marketed for school use was conducted in the Microcomputer Resource Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, during 1982 with funding from the Exxon Education Foundation. Every courseware package was evaluated by a team which included a subject matter expert, an…

College freshmen enrolled in English composition classes were polled to determine their attitudes toward two different methods of bibliographic instruction: the lecture-discussion practicum and the workbook. Analysis indicated that most students perceived the lecture-discussion to be the more successful instructional technique for both general and…

This study investigated whether computer science educational background makes secondary students more adept at using word processing capabilities, and compared computer science and non-computer science students' writing improvement with word processing use. Computer science students used more sophisticated program features but student writing did…

This project examines anaphora (the linguistic device of abbreviated subsequent reference to a concept) in information retrieval (IR) systems in order to develop procedures to recognize anaphors in text and distinguish between anaphoric and non-anaphoric uses of a given term, estimate the number of anaphors appearing in bibliographic records, and…

The relative effectiveness of the CD-ROM information retrieval system, InfoTrac II, and the manual "Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature," was studied. Seventeen community college students were divided into two groups which researched the same questions either on CD-ROM or in the printed index. Results showed the "Readers'…

Compares 7 biology faculty members, 9 genetic counselors, and 26 undergraduate students according to both expertise and problem-solving success within the domain of genetics. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that as expertise is attained, the individual restructures knowledge into a framework based upon the critical dimensions which…

This investigation of the effect of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on the learning of library skills hypothesized that there would be a substantial difference in the achievement of library skills by those students who received additional drill and practice through the use of CAI and those who received additional drill and practice only from…

This report compares the effectiveness of two microcomputer based career guidance systems that are gaining widespread acceptance--the System of Interactive Guidance and Information (SIGI), produced by the Educational Testing Service, and DISCOVER, produced by the American College Testing Program. Both systems are designed to lead the user through…

This study examines the role of the teacher-librarian as perceived by teacher-librarians themselves and by school principals. The specific problems addressed are: (1) whether there are differences in present perceptions of the teacher-librarian's role by principals and teacher-librarians; (2) whether the two groups have differing perceptions of…