For a number of years, the California community colleges have used data from annual statewide surveys conducted by the Kern Community College District and the California Community College Trustees (CCCT) for comparative faculty salary information. Both the Kern and CCCT studies rely upon the device of selecting benchmark points (such as the…

This paper discusses the experiences and insight derived from the 1985-1986 Statewide Evaluation of the Early Education Program of Handicapped Children in Louisiana, the multimethod evaluation of preschool intervention projects for handicapped and at-risk children. The program served almost 5,000 handicapped preschoolers and their parents,…

Most of the literature on student retention focuses on what students do "wrong" that leads to departure from college, but there is much to be learned from studying student success in higher education. This article presents a study designed to uncover the strategies that successful minority students employ to overcome barriers to academic…

Several regression methods were examined within the framework of weighted structural regression (WSR), comparing their regression weight stability and score estimation accuracy in the presence of outlier contamination. The methods compared are: (1) ordinary least squares; (2) WSR ridge regression; (3) minimum risk regression; (4) minimum risk 2;…

This study was the first phase of a three-phase study to develop, adopt, and implement competency based curriculum for Illinois agricultural occupations programs at the secondary level. As a procedural field test, phase I developed an occupational matrix for one of the U.S. Office of Education agricultural occupation program areas (horticulture)…

A Monte Carlo study of five indices of dimensionality of binary items used a computer model that allowed sampling of both items and people. Five parameters were systematically varied in a factorial design: (1) number of common factors from one to five; (2) number of items, including 20, 30, 40, and 60; (3) sample sizes of 125 and 500; (4) nearly…

An iterative least squares procedure for analyzing the effect of various kinds of intervention in time-series data is described. There are numerous applications of this design in economics, education, and psychology, although until recently, no appropriate analysis techniques had been developed to deal with the model adequately. This paper…

Three attributes of faculty competence--teaching, research, and service--were each measured by three different instruments--department chair evaluation, self-evaluation, and one other measure (student evaluations, number of publications, or number of committees). The data were analyzed through a multitrait-multimethod matrix (MTMMM) to ascertain…

An "undesigned" experiment is one in which the predictor variables are correlated, either due to a failure to complete a design or because the investigator was unable to select or control relevant experimental conditions. The traditional method of analyzing this class of experiment--multiple regression analysis based on a least squares…

One of the most frequently used research methods in education and psychology involves repeated observations on the same individuals. When sample sizes are relatively small and a multivariate analysis lacks power, there are currently two analytical options in testing time effects. One is to assume a time series structure to these observations, and…

A reporting and study format for the investigation of university student retention is presented. Student progression and loss is shown graphically and in tabular form to enable ready comprehension and encourage data exploration. Data obtained at Virginia Commonwealth University for 1977-80 are used as illustration. Two ways of viewing student…

This study explored the possibility of linking the Luna (1999) student flow matrix model with institutional planning at a comprehensive state institution, investigating how student flow environments were associated with student characteristics such as race, gender, citizenship, class level, entry type, and cumulative grade point average. The study…

This report on Phase IV, of a four-phase study, provided for the development of evaluation templates and instruments to be used by the California Department of Education to facilitate systematic assessment of state funded educational technology programs and projects. These assessment documents comprised the major data collection sources for the…

In order to study transfer trends in Maryland, a method was developed for matching student records at two-year sending institutions and four-year receiving institutions in the state. Transfer matrices, which utilized the computerized fall enrollment records of all public two- and four-year institutions in Maryland, allowed for a campus-to-campus…

This issue of the journal contains abstracts and critiques of 11 research reports. Three of the reports concern problem solving; the remainder pertain to the following topics: the impact of secondary schooling and secondary mathematics on student mathematical behavior; figural matrices; computer-video instruction in mathematics; equivalent…