Attempts to document the process of being immersed in the discipline of visual art making by presenting excerpts from an artist's studio diary. Includes post-diary commentaries on the excerpts and a discussion of how this process informed the artwork. Includes photographs of artworks produced during this period. (MJP)

A pentagonal model, based on the star model of function understanding of C. Janvier (1987), is presented as a framework for the design and interpretation of research in the area of learning the concept of mathematical function. The five vertices of the pentagon correspond to five common representations of mathematical function: (1) graph; (2)…

This issue includes the following nine papers on the theme of collecting and utilizing information on vocational training in Europe: "Information on Vocational Training in the Federal Republic of Germany" (Hardenacke); "Devolved Decision Making in the U.K. Demands Wide Dissemination of Information" (Cowan, Brown);…

At the request of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement, the Panel to Evaluate the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) was established in 1985 by the National Academy of Sciences. This report culminates an extensive two-year study of NCES and reflects the panel's broad view of the center's…

Educational indicators are statistical input/output measures providing information on the health of the educational system. This report for the consideration of the Council of Chief State School Officers characterizes the current state of educational indicators as in "shambles." It proposes a three phase framework for developing a sensitive and…

In designing the "Study of Schooling" research project, it was decided that seven regions in the United States would be studied, and for each region, "triples" would be the focus of the research. A "triple" consisted of a senior high school, a feeder junior high or middle school, and a feeder elementary school.…

The first national study to identify and describe the extent of illiteracy problems and lack of high school completions among adult American Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos was conducted from 1977 to 1980, to provide decision makers with an accurate assessment of overall adult Indian education needs. The United States population was surveyed by using…

This manual is designed to train local planning team members and school supervisors/administrators to conduct surveys of local opinions regarding career education. These materials, representing a one-day workshop, consist of eight activities. Topics covered in the activities are an overview of the workshop, an introduction to survey research,…

The Instructional Support System for Occupational Education (ISSOE) project, conducted in New York, focused on (1) review of individualized education systems, (2) selection of appropriate occupational clusters, and (3) development and field testing of a system and materials. A product of the Managing Student Progress series of the ISSOE program,…

The National Assessment is a plan for a systematic survey of knowledges, skills, understandings, and attitudes. The development of citizenship assessment described in this paper typifies the processes undergone for each subject--art, career and occupational development, citizenship, literature, mathematics, music, reading, science, social studies,…

A study to explore the effectiveness of the Columbus, Ohio, Public School Systems' compensatory education program on the reading and mathematics achievement of pupils in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades was conducted. Intent of the study was (1) To study the differential achievement reached by all eligible pupils; and (2) To analyze a selected…

This report, one of six state-of-the-field reports, details how educational leaders access data, the meaning they assign to it, and how the use data to improve teaching and learning. The report recognizes that data does not provide leaders a clear direction for action; rather that data used in educational settings is complex and indefinite. These…

This paper addresses two audiences--those who design education trend studies that simultaneously have longitudinal and intercohort implications, and the secondary analysts who use such trend data. Four study series conducted for the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provide material for the paper: the…

The organization and operations of an evaluation unit in a local governmental agency are presented. How local evaluation units manage (1) external relations (to obtain funding, to gain access to data sources, and encourage evaluation use) and (2) internal operations (including staffing, communication, data collection, and analysis) are described.…

Describes procedures needed to analyze large-scale databases. Presents two examples of how French educational researchers have utilized data from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) studies of mathematics and reading literacy. Includes one table and three figures illustrating these techniques. (CFR)