State longitudinal data systems (SLDSs) have created more opportunities than ever before for rigorous research to influence education policy decisions. As state practitioners who play central roles in building and using our states' longitudinal data systems, we are excited about their promise for supporting policymaking and research. Yet, we also…

It is often difficult and costly to obtain individual-level student achievement data, yet, researchers are frequently reluctant to use school-level achievement data that are widely available from state websites. We argue that public-use aggregate school-level achievement data are, in fact, sufficient to address a wide range of evaluation questions…

In this paper we review recent increases in tuition at public institutions and estimate impacts on enrollment. We use data on all U.S. public 4-year colleges and universities from 1991 to 2006 and illustrate that tuition increased dramatically beginning in the early part of this decade. We examine impacts of such increases on total enrollment and…

This article takes advantage of a unique policy change to examine how principals make decisions regarding teacher dismissal. In 2004, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Chicago Teachers Union signed a new collective bargaining agreement that gave principals the flexibility to dismiss probationary teachers for any reason and without the…

Drawing on British data, this article discusses issues involved in analyzing educational indicator data. Gross productivity, new productivity, and inequality are discussed as types of indicators that describe interdistrict variation in Great Britain. Recommendations are made regarding features of an educational assessment that would be necessary…

This study evaluates 35 federal and privately sponsored databases that report national education statistics in terms of their potential for informing policy deliberations. It argues that for all the national data collected, information is lacking on several major concerns, is often inadequate statistically, and is sometimes contradictory. Various…

The following four integrative data analysis strategies for mixed-method evaluation designs are derived from and illustrated by empirical practice: (1) data transformation; (2) typology development; (3) extreme case analysis; and (4) data consolidation and merging. Use of these methods to realize the full potential of mixed-method approaches is…

In 1993, the state of Massachusetts implemented comprehensive reforms that included increased state aid to local school districts. This study presents empirical evidence on whether these reforms actually increased educational spending and, if so, in what functional areas. These evaluations are based on relatively detailed annual financial data…

A critical guide is offered regarding ethnographic evaluation data: the analytical descriptions or reconstructions of intact cultural scenes and groups which delineate the shared beliefs, practices, artifacts, folk knowledge, and behaviors of some group of people. (PN)

A mixed-method conceptual framework was developed from the literature and refined through an analysis of 57 empirical mixed-method evaluations. Five purposes for mixed-method evaluation are identified (triangulation, complementarity, development, initiation, and expansion) and analyzed using the framework of 7 design characteristics. (TJH)

A set of methods is proposed for the analysis of opportunity to learn (OTL) in relation to achievement in large-scale educational assessments. Methods are illustrated with data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the National Education Longitudinal Study. Implications for large-scale educational assessment are discussed. (SLD)

Validation studies, placement-enrollment comparisons, student surveys, and instructor interviews are discussed as operational methods in a synthesizing approach to undergraduate course placement evaluation. A range of suggested questions is coupled with various data sources in placement evaluation schemes and system procedures. (CM)

The New Standards Project has designed research to describe educational standards in other countries using an ethnographic case-study approach. Data review and analysis are organized by fundamental questions, the answers to which constitute a contextualized account of what students are expected to know and be able to do. (Author/SLD)

A performance evaluation model is presented to address the need for measuring the effectiveness of educational training programs in institutions of higher learning. The model emphasizes outcomes by assessing the quality of change that occurs in individual and program performance. (Author/LMO)

Three articles discuss Bureau of Labor Statistics projections of occupational employment growth. Bishop and Carter predict a continuing escalation of wage premiums for college graduates; Kutscher concedes the validity of some of Bishop and Carter's points but denies the shortage. Bishop and Carter respond with census figures. (SLD)