Twenty-eight studies of grades, over a century, were reviewed using the argument-based approach to validity suggested by Kane as a theoretical framework. The review draws conclusions about the meaning of graded achievement, its relation to tested achievement, and changes in the construct of graded achievement over time. "Graded…

Since its inception, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has been committed to the practice of documenting its statistical methods for its customers and of seeking to avoid misinterpretation of its published data. The reason for this policy is to assure customers that proper statistical standards and techniques have been observed,…

The booklet provides detailed estimates on handicapping conditions for school aged populations. The figures are intended to help the federal government validate state child count data as required by P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children. Section I uncovers the methodology used to arrive at the estimates, and it identifies the…

The report discusses issues regarding the validation of the child count data prepared by states to comply with P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. It also proposes a validation procedure to assure the accuracy of the counts. The validatiion process is conceptualized, and steps in conducting an adequate state census are…

This report on the private school universe presents data on schools with grades K-12 by school size, school level, religious orientation, geographical region, community type, and program emphasis. The numbers of students and teachers are reported in the same categories. The number of students is also reported by race/ethnicity, gender, and grade…

Discusses various brambles that ensnare educational researchers and their reports. Several identifiable problems include allowing methodology to drive research questions, stressing results over meaning and interpretation, disguising researchers' voice and identity, and paying too little attention to composition and style. Remedies are suggested.…

Several methodological flaws were found in a Public Service Research Council study relating increases in public employee strikes with the adoption of bargaining statutes. A replication, using teachers, suggests some nonstatutory factors that may strongly affect the incidence of teacher strikes. (Author/IRT)

Research problems related to studies of school desegregation in urban areas are identified and discussed. A review of statistical models used in desegregation research indicates that deviation models are the most appropriate for investigating short-run effects of desegregation. (Author/DB)

This report contains analyses of key aspects of the scope, quality, and vitality of the Nation's science and engineering enterprise and global science and technology. The report presents information on science, mathematics, and engineering education at all levels; the scientific and engineering workforce; U.S. and international and development…

Meta-analysis, meta-evaluation and secondary analysis are methods of summarizing, examining, evaluating or re-analyzing data in research and evaluation efforts. Meta-analysis involves the summarization of research findings to come to some general conclusions regarding effects or outcomes of a given treatment/project/program. Glass's approach…

Presented are the results of a 2-year study on achievement patterns in 917 educable mentally retarded (EMR) children (8.0 to 19.11 years old) in the district run classes throughout Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Described are the student participants, as well as the teachers and districts from which they came. Also discussed are the test devices…

The handbook is designed to help state education agency (SEA), personnel make an accurate count of those handicapped children aged 3 to 21 years who are receiving special education and related services in their state. The child count procedures suggested are based on a study of accepted census practices and on the experiences of a number of SEAs…

Provides an integrative review of experimental treatment studies on the teaching of composition in the past two decades. Assesses the effectiveness of different modes of instruction and different focuses of instruction. Outlines the implications of the results for policy at local, state, and national levels and for future research. (RDN)

Preliminary findings of this research effort provide support for the hypothesis that existing databases maintained by federal agencies for administrative or monitoring purposes can serve as useful data sources in special education policy research. The research explored the relationships among a number of state-level special education, fiscal, and…

The great concern in recent decades over the trends of declining student achievement scores and increased cost of schooling has prompted speculation about how these trends might relate to one another. Much like popular opinion, research findings from studies of this relationship have often been contradictory. This study presents results from a…