Linear programing was used to plan the desegregation program of the Seattle (WA) School District. The application described is unique in two respects: (1) its nearest/next nearest school distinction, using geographically coded student files, and (2) its measurement of the compatibility of two alternative legal frameworks for achieving racial…

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…

There are two basic approaches offered in current computerized transportation routing and scheduling programs: the mathematical programming approach and the intuitive optimization approach. Lists questions that an informed buyer should ask of the routing and scheduling company. (MLF)

This set of transparencies shows how the manipulation of combinatorial structures in the context of modern combinatorics can easily lead to interesting teaching and learning activities at every level of education from elementary school to university. The transparencies describe: (1) the importance and relations of combinatorics to science and…

This working paper contains the overheads used in a seminar designed to introduce some basic concepts of statistics to nonstatisticians. The seminar has been presented on several occasions. The first part of the seminar, and the first set of overheads, deals with the essentials of statistics, including: (1) population, sample, and inference; (2)…

Discusses certain transferable skills and a strategy for developing them via an intensive short course on mathematical modeling. Includes student reactions and comments on the course. Suggests that this course developed modeling as well as generic skills through teaching, learning, and assessment style. (Author/KHR)

Reviews the different types of models that can be used in groundwater modeling. Discusses the flow and contaminant transport models in the saturated zone, flow and contaminant transport in variably saturated flow regime, vapor transport, biotransformation models, multiphase models, optimization algorithms, and potentials pitfalls of using these…

Direct and indirect effects in decomposed zero-order correlations among variables in causal models are considered. Under certain circumstances, the components of the decompositions could be interpreted as direct, indirect, and spurious causal effects, plus a component called joint associations. The sum of the direct and indirect effects is the…

The development and testing of a process model of undergraduate student performance and the influence of performance on dropout rates are discussed. An important feature of the model is a feedback loop that represents knowledge of results. A mathematical elaboration of traditional ideas regarding the effect of feedback on performance is included.…

Aside from the theoretical issues involving the validity of inferences from surveys, the basic problem of producinq unbiased estimates of regression parameters and estimates of the associated standard errors has been a particularly difficult issue in dealing with results from stratified multistage sample designs such as the one used in the…

Argues that corporation trainers need to capitalize upon technological innovations to create more efficient and effective training programs, compares training alternatives, and provides models for determining costs for students, instructors, facilities, administration, and instructional development, as well as the total corporate training cost.…

This instructional module discusses the one-, two-, and three-parameter logistic item response theory (IRT) models. Mathematical formulas are given for each model and they are compared, with figures illustrating the effects of changing parameters. A single data set is used to demonstrate the effects of changing parameter values. (SLD)

A study was undertaken to develop guidelines for the interpretation of the parameters of three multidimensional item response theory models and to determine the relationship between the parameters and traditional concepts of item difficulty and discrimination. The three models considered were multidimensional extensions of the one-, two-, and…

In all latent trait models there is an equation which describes the probabilistic outcome of the interaction of a person with a known ability and an item with a known difficulty. This modeled outcome can be compared to the observed outcome, and the residuals can be summed over the items to assess the fit of the person to the model. Various…

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…