This technical report documents the procedures used to collect and summarize data from the 2005 High School Transcript Study (HSTS 2005). The transcript studies serve as a barometer for changes in high school graduates' course-taking patterns; these patterns provide information about the rigor of high school curricula followed across the nation.…

Bayesian methods for estimating dose response curves in quantal bioassay are studied. A linearized multi-stage model is assumed for the shape of the curves. A Gibbs sampling approach with data augmentation is employed to compute the Bayes estimates. In addition, estimation of the "relative additional risk" and the "risk specific…

Not infrequently, investigators assume that reliability for groups is greater than reliability for persons, or that the error variance for groups is less than that for persons. Using generalizability theory, it is shown that this "conventional wisdom" is not necessarily true. Examples are provided from the course-evaluation and the…

This report summarizes tasks undertaken to assess the feasibility of a longitudinal analysis of elementary and secondary schools. The initial objective was to see if it was technically possible to analyze overlap samples of schools from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to produce substantive findings. Over the course of the project various…

The accuracy of the Markov chain Monte Carlo procedure, Gibbs sampling, was considered for estimation of item and ability parameters of the one-parameter logistic model. Four data sets were analyzed to evaluate the Gibbs sampling procedure. Data sets were also analyzed using methods of conditional maximum likelihood, marginal maximum likelihood,…

This is one of three volumes presenting the procedures and results of a research effort investigating the effects upon student outcomes of training teachers to implement individual study and self-directed study in their classrooms. In this volume correlation matrices drawn from tests of student variables and achievement are presented. Item…

The 2004/06 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/06), conducted for the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), collected information about the education and employment experiences of students in the two years following their first enrollment in postsecondary education. The primary…

This update to the School Enrollment Report of the Current Population Survey presents detailed tables about the school enrollment of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States. It is the first update of a new series designed to reduce the number of printed reports by updating Current Population Survey tables annually while…

This study examines the magnitude of the difference between estimates from the 1990-91 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) using a Common Core of Data (CCD) definition of a school and a Quality Education Data (QED) definition of a school. The 1990-91 SASS sample design allows for the development of school and administrator estimates using either…

This technical report provides an updated assessment of the problem of optimizing the periodicity of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Making use of data from three rounds of SASS data collection (for school years 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94), the report extends and updates the preliminary findings and interim assessments that were…

This document is the fourteenth annual report on the critical successes of the North Carolina Community Colleges published in July 2003. The purpose of this document is to report on the performance measures for purposes of accountability and performance funding. Furthermore, the annual report serves as an evaluation instrument for the System…

This report describes the methods and procedures used for the 1999 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:99). As did the first 2 cycles of this survey, NSOPF:99 serves the continuing need for data on faculty and other instructional personnel. NSOPF:99 used a sample of 960 institutions and 28,576 full- and part-time faculty employed at…

States participating in the National Assessment of Educational Progress State Assessment program (state NAEP) are required to sample at least 2,500 students from at least 100 schools per subject assessed. In this ideal situation, 25 students are assessed for a subject in each school selected for that subject. Two problems have arisen: some states…

When norming tests, it may be preferable to use the matrix sampling technique. The results from the samples may be used to estimate what the distribution of scores would have been if each subject had taken all the items. This paper compares four methods for making these estimates. The sample size made it possible to compare the techniques in a…

This document contains two papers related to the 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The first paper documents some of the problems that were encountered during student sample selection and the methods used to resolve those problems. It also provides some suggestions to alleviate some of the problems in future SASS studies. Significant…