This paper consists of results of a state survey and case studies of Minnesota and Massachusetts, two states with recent histories in implementing tuition formulas. Both case studies are discussed within the context of state fiscal conditions and appropriations. The survey revealed that 16 states are attempting to establish an enduring rationale…

Presents two statistical topics and examples of their use in natural resource monitoring. The first topic deals with use of correlated observations in calculations of variance estimates for a regional mean, required sample size determination, and confidence intervals. The second topic concerns the use of Bayesian techniques in hypothesis testing.…

An elementary mathematical model is used to analyze tuition and privatization policies for higher education institutions. One finding is that an appropriate tuition can increase the social income of alumni. Another salient finding is that some of the model's results are counterintuitive, suggesting its utility in decision making. Methodological…

The use of data on longitudinal student attendance patterns to determine variances, and hence confidence bounds, on student enrollment forecasts, in addition to finding the forecasts themselves, is demonstrated. The formulation of the enrollment model based on longitudinal student attendance patterns is described step by step, presenting the…

Procedures for determining cutting scores have been proposed by Angoff and by Nedelsky. Nedelsky's approach requires that a rater examine each distractor within a test item to determine the probability of a minimally competent examinee answering correctly; whereas Angoff uses a judgment based on the whole item, rather than each of its components.…

The use of high school transcipts, American College Testing Service composite scores, and first semester courses and grades of college freshmen is discussed as a way to statistically analyze the notion that high school college preparatory courses help students earn better grades in college than elective courses do. (MSE)

A research project is described that concerns "temporal adjustment" as one form of a non-wage adjustment in the academic labor market. Receipt of the doctorate, the number and length of post-doctoral fellowships, and the achievement of tenure are temporal factors in academic careers. The change in timing of these factors is a form of…

Eight different methods are reviewed for determining whether two or more tests are equivalent measures. These methods vary in restrictiveness from the Wilks-Votaw test of compound symmetry (which requires that all means, variances, and covariances are equal), to Joreskog's theory of congeneric tests (which requires only that the tests are measures…

An analysis of salary differentials shows that although women and racial or ethnic minorities in the federal Civil Service science and engineering workforce earn less than their male and white counterparts, the differentials are much less than those shown by other studies for other occupations in the economy. These results show that: (1) salary…

This document was prepared in connection with a three-year longitudinal study of career expectations of high school students conducted to explain scientifically the process by which youth form career expectations, e.g., educational, occupational, and income expectations. Divided into six chapters, this document contains a theoretical rationale for…

A study analyzed the second-language essays of seven anglophone and one French-speaking Quebec university students enrolled in a literature course by using a cognitive-metacognitive framework developed for mathematical problem-solving and a think-aloud protocol. Results indicate the framework, with some adjustments, is a reliable tool for…

The communication of research findings among collegiate institutional researchers is considered in relation to the contribution of qualitative language in general, and catastrophe theory in particular. The qualitative language of catastrophe theory may help reduce the arbitrariness of description, through identification of qualitative features…

A response to a previous article on predicting academic success of transfer students at the School of Pharmacy, University of Wyoming, is presented. Posits that a multivariate predictor of a student's final grade point average would be a successful predictor tool. Presents an evaluation of those predictor equations. (MLW)

This report provides the statistical tools necessary to measure the extent of error that exists in organizational record data and group survey data. It is felt that traditional methods of measuring error are inappropriate or incomplete when applied to organizational groups, especially in studies of organizational change when the same variables are…

The validity of prediction equations based on American College Testing (ACT) Program test scores and high school grades is investigated. Presented are separate results for prediction equations based on ACT scores only, on high school grades only, and on both kinds of prediction jointly. Also included is a discussion of the relationship between…