This study determined whether experts in special education transition services perceived a need for a common theoretical model and core set of outcome variables for follow-along research at the state level, evaluated a model for use in follow-along studies, and suggested research questions to be measured in a common format across statewide…

The purpose of this study was to improve both statistical and judgmental methods for detecting potentially biased test items in an attempt to examine the agreement between the results obtained with these methods. If greater agreement between methods can be achieved, test items can be more effectively screened using judgmental methods prior to…

A group of high school self-reported dropouts and a group of simulated high school dropouts were compared with graduates in their participation rates, efforts required for data collection, and the overall quality of their responses in the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. The results indicate that dropouts are less…

Private education as an area of study offers many opportunities to educational researchers. Four types of research that would include private education are discussed and examples of research possibilities under each type are offered. The first type involves fundamental educational processes. Suggested are studies of the effects of various levels…

An attempt to adapt the U.S.-based IDEA (Instructional Development by Evaluation and Assessment) system to Great Britain is described. This widely-used method of faculty evaluation based on student ratings was pioneered by Kansas State University. Among the features of IDEA are the following: it relates student perceptions of teacher behavior to…

In order to identify the determinants of American Indian and Alaska Native earnings, labor force participation, and labor supply, data from the Bureau of the Census' 1976 national Survey of Income and Education, which included 3,848 American Indians and Alaska Natives, was analyzed. Comparisons with blacks and whites were made on the basis of wage…

Written to assist future researchers in conducting cross-national studies of classroom behaviors, this study indicates a number of factors which may reduce the validity of comparisons made. It is based on an investigation which explored the feasibility of using the Activities Categories Instrument and the Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories…

A study compared the benefits of using the Hewlett-Packard HP-41CV hand-held computer, as opposed to conventional training without computers, in teaching mathematics to fire control systems repairers. Thirty soldiers in a course to train fire control systems repairers received training in technical mathematics using the hand-held computer, whereas…

This guide is essentially designed as a teaching aid for those who would inform planners, officials of educational ministries, school administrators, principals, and teachers about educational outcome measurements. In outline and graphic form, the guide presents topics for discussion in a seminar dealing with the application of outcome…

The increasing use of educational performance or outcome measurements for a range of policy purposes points to new procedures for adjusting data for population composition. The purposes include: program formulation, budget resource allocation, grant-in-aid designs, performance incentive payments, consumer information for school selection, and…

Critiques action research from a feminist theoretical perspective, identifying a duality between mainstream and antisexist action research. Argues mainstream researchers' rational distancing fosters self-deception among researchers about what action research can achieve and how it operates. Posits emotional engagement characteristic to antisexist…

A study conducted at one large research university compared electronic mail and telephones as methods for gathering survey data from undergraduate students. Problems associated with electronic-mail use include higher rate of socially undesirable activity among respondents and difficulty in identifying the target population. Implications for campus…

Using statewide fall enrollment reporting systems, the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) generates a report each year showing fall-to-fall enrollment patterns of students among Maryland public colleges and universities, resulting in a "transfer matrix" that provides an indicator of transfer volume and destinations. At Prince…

The Contra Costa Community College District (CCCCD), in California, conducted a study to determine the type and number of transfer students served by both the CCCCD and by the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), or St. Mary's College (SMC) between 1982-83 and 1989-90. The study also assessed the completeness and…

Research efforts have established that the Mantel-Haenszel procedure (MHP) is an effective method for detecting the presence of test items exhibiting differential item functioning (DIF). While the MHP has been advocated for situations where item response theory based methods may not be usable, recent findings have suggested that the performance of…