Collected information on the quality of needs assessments of the elderly from three sources. Found that the overall quality of the majority of needs assessments was so low as to provide little meaningful input to the planning process. Recommends that states focus on the improvement of needs assessment efforts. (Author)

AN INVESTIGATION WAS CONDUCTED--(1) TO DESCRIBE SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS TO WHICH RESEARCH SHOULD BE APPLIED BY STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (SDE) ADMINISTRATORS AND RESEARCH PERSONNEL, (2) TO INCREASE THE COMPETENCE OF SDE RESEARCH PERSONNEL IN THE IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH DESIGNS, (3) TO FORMULATE…

REPORTED IN AN EVALUATION OF A PROGRAM OF STATE AID FOR EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMS WAS AN OVERVIEW OF THE LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION GOVERNING SUCH PROGRAMS. A PURPOSE OF THE FINANCIAL AID TO LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS WILLING TO EXPERIMENT WITH INNOVATIONS TO IMPROVE INSTRUCTIONAL QUALITY WAS TO PROMOTE THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN ATTACKING TEACHING AND…

Research on the implementation of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) included a sample of more than 20,000 people in 16 service delivery areas (SDAs). The random assignment model for the study produced estimates of the impact of the overall JTPA program in this sample of SDAs, plus separate impact estimates for individuals recommended for…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) recently expanded its national survey to include state representative samples on a trial basis. In 1992, the NAEP undertook studied non-response in the trial assessment through two simulation projects. The first looked at state assessments that were similar to NAEP tests for states with low…

When students choose postsecondary vocational education programs, they pay, in both money and in income lost during the time they are in the program. The public also pays by tax support for many educational programs. However, students often have little information about the effectiveness of these programs in terms of job placement, wage rates, and…

ACTIVITIES OF THE UTAH RESEARCH COORDINATING UNIT IN VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, DURING ITS FIRST 16 MONTHS OF OPERATION, WERE DESCRIBED. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT OUTCOMES OF THE UNIT'S VARIED EFFORTS WERE (1) DEVELOPING WITHIN THE UTAH STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AN AWARENESS OF THE POTENTIAL VALUE OF RESEARCH TO VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL…

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…

These proceedings consist of the papers presented at a conference on vocational education research in the 1980s. The first group of papers deals with various approaches to, and priorities for, vocational education research in the 1980s. Discussed in the next group of papers are national perspectives on research programming. Following this group…

This report on the feasibility of the placement rate concept contains a body of knowledge about the limitations and uses of the placement rate concept for comparing and assessing vocational and job training programs offered by different program providers in California. The report is divided into three parts. Part I, the executive summary, is…

Recent investigations of the extent to which students with disabilities are allowed to participate in major national data collections used in measurement-driven education reform suggest that 40 to 50 percent of students with disabilities are typically excluded from major assessments, although they are included to a greater degree in assessments…

School effectiveness indices (SEIs), based on regressing test performance onto earlier test performance and a socioeconomic status measure, were obtained for eight subject-grade combinations from 485 South Carolina elementary schools. The analysis involved school means based on longitudinally matched student data. Reading and mathematics…

This final report summarizes Phase II of the study of employment demand data for agriculture/agribusiness in New York State. Analysis, procedures, findings, recommendations, and products of the study are reported. During Phase II, the final eight months of the study, the data collection was completed; procedures were implemented for conducting…

This handbook is designed to help local and state vocational education evaluation personnel conduct studies to measure the training and job satisfaction of former vocational education students. It consists of eight chapters. Chapter 1 explains the rationale, development, and organization of the handbook. Chapter 2 is composed of two commissioned…

Approximately 6,500 children are enrolled per year in the New York State Experimental Prekindergarten Program (PreK). In 1975-76 a longitudinal study was begun to determine the program's impact on the development of children while enrolled in the program and in the primary grades. Samples from a population of 5,245 four-year-old prekindergarten…