This National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) instructional module compares classical test theory and item response theory and describes their applications in test development. Related concepts, models, and methods are explored; and advantages and disadvantages of each framework are reviewed. (SLD)

Discusses how to examine and evaluate claims of improved academic performance in advertisements for computer-assisted instruction. Highlights include the proper use of comparison groups; types of statistical analyses; the Hawthorne effect; the interpretation of scores; interpreting graphic presentations; tests of significance; and cost…

A new statistical measure termed the Composite Indicator of Changes (CIC) reflects overall changes in average salaries and wages paid by public school systems in much the same way that the Dow-Jones averages reflect price changes in the stock market. The CIC is useful for comparing salary trends among various categories of personnel, among…

The Composite Indicator of Changes (CIC) in average salaries and wages paid by public school systems is designed to reflect overall changes, to compare salary trends among various categories of personnel, and to analyze salary trends in an individual school system and among groups of school systems. Annual updates of the CIC are computed from data…

This report provides data to evaluate salary and wage trends in education. The statistical measure used to gauge and compare changes in salaries and wages paid by school systems is the Composite Indicator of Changes (CIC). This measure is designed to reflect changes in much the same way as the Dow Jones Average or the Standard and Poor's Index.…