Measures of variability are successfully used in predictive modeling in research areas outside of education. This study examined how standard deviations can be used to address research questions not easily addressed using traditional measures such as group means based on index variables. Student survey data were obtained from the Organisation for…

Closing the achievement gap in public education is a worthy goal that has been included as a top priority in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002). This study analyzed the most salient predictors at the student and school levels to identify their long-term impact on mathematics achievement from the elementary grades to high school. The…

Describes a study conducted to identify items on the Differential Aptitude Test which will predict success in engineering technology programs. Statistical analysis revealed several test items with high predictive potential. (MLH)

Seventeen structure-of-intellect (SI) abilities were tested as predictors of success in a Conceptually Oriented Program in Elementary Science (COPES) unit. Three SI abilities involving convergent productive thinking and one involving divergent productive thinking were shown to be significant predictors. (MLH)

Presents results of a study to evaluate a model that indicates which factors are most important in predicting performance in engineering graduate programs. Variables tested include honors won, undergraduate grade point, full/part time student, age, marital status, children, undergraduate institution excellence, and two levels of work experience.…

This paper discusses the principles underlying discriminant analysis and constructs a simulated data set to illustrate its methods. Discriminant analysis is a multivariate technique for identifying the best combination of variables to maximally discriminate between groups. Discriminant functions are established on existing groups and used to…

A study was conducted to develop an instrument which would require a relatively short time to complete and would predict an adult's probable performance on a five-part General Educational Development (GED) test. It was believed that the cloze procedure (a measure of reading comprehension in which every fifth word is deleted from a reading passage…

Mounting pressure in the policy arena to improve teacher productivity either by improving signals that predict teacher performance or through creating incentive contracts based on performance--has spurred two related questions: Are there important determinants of teacher productivity that are not captured by teacher credentials but that can be…

Although a complex process, canonical correlation has numerous potential advantages over other predictive techniques, the most important being that canonical correlation predicts several criterion variables simultaneously. The paper shows how the method can be used for industrial and vocational-technical education data. (Author)

This paper examines the multivariate multiple regression model and explores its applicability to communication research. The first section discusses partitioning of a data matrix, as a heuristic device for distinguishing among alternative regression models. Section two examines various aspects of univariate multiple regression, including the form…

Relationships between the ratings of interns by their supervisors, their peers, and the interns themselves on four dimensions are compared and analyzed in relationship to earlier measures of aptitude, achievement, and personality. Findings reported show supervisor ratings to be highest and admission variables to be unrelated to intern performance.…

This study seeks to either verify or refute the hypothesis that a positive relationship exists between self-concept and underachievement. (Author)

Five studies were aimed at furthering understanding of the effects of second language immersion on young children. The first study demonstrated that the neuropsychological test profile of children who are unable to make satisfactory progress when immersed in a kindergarten second language program is different from that of children with more…