With accurate information, educators are better able to make effective decisions. Besides being used to assess student performance, a complete program of data collection and use can also show educators how management skills, individual learning styles, and other elements affect student achievement. This digest provides an overview of how…

There are four steps in obtaining test data, each requiring planning and decision-making: assembling students, administering tests, scoring, and recording scores. In assembling students, two cautions are in order. First, for norm referenced tests, students in the treatment group should take the test at the same time of the year as the students in…

This manual is designed to familiarize data users with the procedures followed for data collection and processing of the base-year school component of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). A corollary objective is to provide the necessary documentation for use of the data files. The manual provides a wide range of…

This policy brief examines issues associated with accurately collecting and reporting placement data for students with disabilities. It notes that existing federal reporting requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and traditional state data systems may actually impede the collection of accurate data regarding the…

One of a series of sixteen knowledge transformation papers, this paper reviews data sources for objective evaluation of vocational education, including the need for such information and the problems associated with its use. First, a list is given of thirty-five data elements necessary to evaluate a skill training problem at the secondary,…

This evaluation handbook is the third in a series of three handbooks developed for individuals, school districts, and agencies interested in implementing career education programs. It is a user's manual with easy-to-follow directions for the implementation of specific evaluation activities. The handbook is divided into the following nine sections:…

One of a series of sixteen knowledge transformation papers, this paper deals with the nature and extent of use of evaluative data by administrators in vocational education. First, the following conditions which govern the use of the data are described: availability, reliability, credibility, utility, and consistency. Since the legitimacy of most…

This issue presents two articles on the use of data to improve results for students with disabilities. The first paper examines how researchers supported by the Office of Special Education Programs are discovering innovative uses of scientifically derived information in instructional and administrative decision making as well as strategies for…

Ways that higher education institutions can improve their compliance procedures in responding to external requests for reports and information are addressed. Institutional officers must first determine how the data will be used by the external agency. By questioning how the requested information will be used, a determination can be made of what…