This resource book examines the value-added model approach when used in assessing early childhood Title I (ECT-I) programs. The evaluation design must be able to separate program effects from natural maturation. The basic idea behind the value-added model builds on the notion of natural maturation. The major strengths are that it does not require…

This paper discusses problems associated with the application of experimental methods to program evaluation, proposes an alternative approach (program-attribute scaling), and reports the procedure and results of a trial application of the alternative approach. (Author)

In this paper, academic efficiency is operationally defined and a methodology for measuring it at the school level is described. Academic efficiency is defined as the extent to which a school utilizes its time for the academic development of all its students. The measure of academic efficiency must include three elements: time, students, and…

Several methods of assessing test item bias are described, and the concept of fair use of tests is examined. A test item is biased if individuals of equal ability have different probabilities of attaining the item correct. The following seven general procedures used to examine test items for bias are summarized and discussed: (1) analysis of…

The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model, a conceptual model for measuring productivity and efficiency, is presented and applied in this report. First, the DEA model is described, and three of its properties that make it particularly useful are identified; i.e., it measures efficiency of units relative to each other rather than to absolute…

Educators designing procedures for identifying students as learning disabled are faced with serious technical difficulties. A student with a learning disability is one who "has a severe discrepancey between achievement and intellectual ability" in one or more designated areas. The methods of quantifying achievement, intellectual ability,…

This text provides educational administrators with a working knowledge of the problem-solving techniques of PERT (planning, evaluation, and review technique), Linear Programming, Queueing Theory, and Simulation. The text includes an introduction to decision-making and operations research, four chapters consisting of indepth explanations of each…

Tries to develop a method for empirical evaluations of the impact of a school system on measurable cognitive and affective outcomes in students. Concentrates on the Partial Least Squares (PLS) methodology, and illustrates the potential of PLS for system analysis. (BW)

A system designed to evaluate investment in Ohio's vocational education programs is described in this monograph which also serves as the system manual. Major features emphasized are (1) the system enables calculation of rate of return and of present value of investment in the training of an individual in a vocational program, when education is…