A longitudinal study of political attitudes and behavior of high school students reveals varying results when two different methods of data analysis are applied. A sample of 293 students was questioned (during their sophomore year in 1974 and again in 1976 when they were seniors) about political orientation, number of social studies classes taken,…

Educational program evalaution is subject to many difficulties. Problems with evaluation include such conceptual problems as: (1) understanding of decisions to be made; (2) adequate definition; (3) consensus on values and criteria; (4) coordination among administrative levels; and (5) use of an appropriate evaluation model. Technical problems…

To evaluate the accuracy of the 1970 census' occupational classification system, a comparison was made between that year's responses to census questions and the replies by the same population group to the 1972 Postcensal Manpower Survey (PMS). Each of these questionnaires relied on a different methodology; in the PMS the respondent classified…

Statewide assessment data available from two school years, two grade levels, and five sources (achievement tests; student, principal, and teacher questionnaires; and principal interviews), were aggregated to more closely investigate the relationship between student/school characteristics and student achievement. To organize this large number of…

The study by a team from the Council on Economic Priorities found: (1) that employment discrimination against minorities and women is endemic to commercial banking; (2) that a majority of the commercial banks studied are unwilling to permit public scrutiny of their employment and minority lending practices; and (3) that both the secrecy and the…

This article examines the dearth of published research on effective practices for teaching gifted students in general education settings. Suggestions for defining the effects that should be measured are provided, as well as guidelines for technically adequate measures and procedures for gathering and analyzing the necessary data. (Author/PB)

As part of an effort to reduce high school dropout rates in large city school districts, Phi Delta Kappa, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the Council of Great City Schools, and a group of large city school districts undertook an effort to determine baseline statistics in high schools in large cities by using standardized…

In August 1996 Jay P. Greene, Paul E. Peterson, and Jiangtao Du, with Leesa Boeger and Curtis L. Frazier, issued a report called "The Effectiveness of School Choice in Milwaukee." The report, referred to as GPDBF, presented data that indicated that low-income minority students in their third and fourth years of participation in the…

Studying or finding out about children is exceptionally difficult--intellectually, physically, and emotionally. Physical, social, cognitive, and political distances between adult and the child make their relationship very different from the relationships among adults. This book explains the art and science of doing qualitative research involving…

Current theories of intellectual development claim that such development proceeds through invariant sequences of increasingly more adequate cognitive structures. According to the two dominant theories on changes in intellectual functioning during adulthood, intellectual development is essentially accomplished by adolescence, although sharpening…

Two studies are reviewed to determine their relevance to proposed legislation (H.R. 2620) concerning athletic scholarships. The review was conducted at the request of U.S. Representative James J. Howard who proposed the bill. H.R. 2620 would require colleges to graduate at least 75% of their scholarship athletes within 5 years in order for…

Methods of achieving compromises between the classical laboratory experiment, and the constrictions affecting educational researchers conducting experiments to build upon correlational process-outcome data are suggested. Ecological validity is achieved through partnership relationships between researchers and the teachers implementing treatments,…

Several methodological issues related to second language acquisition research are considered, and a two-part study is discussed that addresses issues related to data collection, i.e., how and how frequent, and data analysis, i.e., the appropriateness of the statistical tools, the justification of inferences and the comparability of results based…

Both administratively and in terms of their evaluations, Head Start and Follow Through have been treated as separate programs. Follow Through was initially conceived, however, as an effort to preserve and augment Head Start gains. In this report, achievement test data on a set of children who participated in both Head Start and Follow Through are…

Misunderstandings on the part of the researcher as to the computer's capability, coupled with the inability of the computer system to function efficiently, has often handicapped the research activities in computer assisted instruction (CAI). A new data system is being developed to resolve these problems. A Delete/Sort program has been designed to…