This article discusses concerns with the No Child Left Behind definition of scientifically based research and its preference for random-assignment experiments from a single/within subject research perspective. A comprehensive program of research that can focus on the bridging the gap between research and practice is proposed. (CR)

Recent policy studies by the Education Trust and Heritage Foundation have tried to identify "high-flying" schools--schools that help students reach very high levels of achievement, despite significant disadvantages. This policy brief demonstrates three major problems with the findings of these reports. (1) Due to questionable…

Reviewing and conducting research on summer residential program models for gifted and talented students will illuminate the academic, social, and emotional difficulties they face and reveal which practices are effective in addressing these issues. One program model, the Governor's School, warrants particular attention because of its mission to…

This publication presents four major research papers on college campus substance abuse prevention and research with reviews of the papers by practitioners in the substance abuse prevention field. Following a Preface and Introduction, the first paper is "Theories, Dominant Models, and the Need for Applied Research" by Gerardo M. Gonzalez.…

Dissertations are an important component of the effort to generate knowledge. Thus, dissertation quality may be seen by accreditation and coordinating-board reviewers as a noteworthy reflection on the quality of doctoral programs themselves. The present study reviews methodological errors within Ph.D. dissertations. The illustrative errors are…

This paper discusses problems the author encountered in attempting to conduct a study of teacher motivation as influenced by a combination of participative decision-making and financial rewards. Over a 3-year period, teacher motivation was to be viewed as influenced by two independent variables--participative decision-making and financial rewards;…

The issues of achieving school desegregation and providing programs for students with special needs, while at the same time facing enrollment declines, have forced school administrators to improve techniques for projecting demand. This paper describes a new procedure that combines forecasting of enrollments and management of facilities and that…

This book, consisting of 13 papers, deals with the theory, practice, and reactions to participatory research in the area of social research for development. Included in the volume are the following papers: "Breaking the Monopoly of Knowledge: Research Methods, Participation, and Development," by Budd Hall; "Creating Alternative…

American study programs in China were assessed, based on interviews with American undergraduate or graduate students studying or doing research at various China institutions during the 1980-81 academic year and with Chinese administrators from the institutions. Four channels exist through which American students can arrange placement in China:…

There are a number of issues involved in the validation of measures of teacher effectiveness, that is, a teacher's ability to promote student learning. Teachers' characeristics may be assessed at five different points: (1) pre-existing teacher characteristics--knowledge, skills, and attitudes which are necessary for success in the teacher…

The conference summarized here brought together participants from 12 public school districts and 34 observers from government agencies, foundations and community organizations. The attendees addressed the concern that the reform agenda of American public schooling is insufficiently sensitive to needy children who have dropped out of school or who…

The Franklin Pierce School District, a semi-rural, semi-urban district located south of Tacoma, Washington, was one of the Experimental School Projects (ESP) initially funded by the National Institute of Education. The Franklin Pierce ESP provides an optimal learning environment for each student, with special emphasis placed upon transient,…

Reviewing recent research on efforts to improve the quality of public schooling in the United States, this paper focuses on evidence suggesting that negative by-products often accompany innovations and, moreover, that innovators have tended to disregard their capacity for leaving schools in worse condition than they found them. The analysis…

In 1959, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the University of Pittsburgh selected a stratified random probability sample of all secondary schools (public, parochial, and private) in the United States, tested all their students in grades 9-12 with a two-day battery of aptitude tests, information tests, tests of ability and achievement,…

This document reports on a conference, concerning rural blacks in four Southern states, that has as its theme the definition of the problem and research priorities relating to the development of a sense of community. A section on formal presentations includes topics such as democracy, economic progress, and research in the southern region, the…