Relates community structural variables to leadership arrangements, paying special attention to the results obtained when three alternative measures of "reputational" leadership (visibility, legitimacy and centralization) are used in two samples of communities. (Author/AM)

A study that examined information on who receives aid from the major federal assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act is presented. The report is organized by program--Pell Grants, campus-based aid, and Guaranteed Student Loans. (MLW)

To determine which produced the most accurate item parameter estimates, four methods of item response theory were evaluated: (1) heuristic estimates; (2) the ANCILLES program; (3) the LOGIST program; and (4) the ASCAL program. LOGIST and ASCAL produced estimates of superior and essentially equivalent accuracy. (SLD)

An annual survey by the Council for Aid to Education of voluntary support for education is reported. The survey does not take into account the October 19 stock market crash, and several colleges indicate a slowdown in the flow of gifts since then. (MLW)

A study examines the ways in which institutional performance can be measured, compares degree results in all United Kingdom universities in 1976-1984, and discusses the reasons for different results. The usefulness of degree results as a measure of teaching quality is also considered. (MSE)

Describes a citation analysis of physics, engineering, and sociology literature which was designed to determine if there were any differences in conceptual referencing patterns. The research methodology is described and suggestions for further study are offered. (Author/LRW)

This paper investigates three methods for comparing medians rather than means in studying two independent treatment groups. The method that gave the best results is based on a normal approximation of the distribution of the sample median where the variance is estimated using results reported by Maritz and Jarrett. (Author/JAZ)

In Britain, higher education is inappropriate for simplistic 'marketisation' but it is appropriate for more internal competition. Graduation data is used as an output measure for higher education. When output measures are set against input measures, Britain compares well with other nations in higher education. (Author/MLW)

A survey of pharmacy graduate students and postbaccalaureate PharmD students examined undergraduate grade-point averages when the students were accepted into an advanced program. Focus was on whether PharmD programs have had an effect on the quality of graduate students accepted in pharmacy programs. (Author/MLW)

The qualitative or nominal-level indicators of diversity with units of observation such as census tracts are examined which (1) are operative in the polytomous situation and, (2) measure within-suit diversity rather than divergences among units. Six qualitative indicators are explained and compared both theoretically and by example. (Author/JM)

Discusses two methods of assessing the effects of school socioeconomic composition on students' college plans in the framework of a general school effects model. The author identifies problems of measurement but stresses the general usefulness of both the contextual variables method and the analysis of covariance method for studying group effects.…

The aim of this paper is to inform readers about the development of national qualifications systems and to provide guidance for countries aiming to set up or reform their systems. The paper is written in the context of vocational qualifications--that is, qualifications that are designed to prepare people for work or to assess their performance in…

This report has two objectives: first, to explore how the demographic and educational characteristics of low-performing students compare to other students within the United States; second, to analyze if the United States differs from the other PISA countries in terms of the characteristics of its low-performing students. The Program for…

This paper presents a model for analyzing and drawing inferences from pre- and post-assessment data that are not as clean as might be desired. The model was applied to comparison of freshman and senior scores on the Academic Profile and Short Form at Cardinal Stritch University (Wisconsin). As of 1997-98, 891 pre-tests had been administered to new…

In distinguishing the characteristics of message systems, it was found that middle-class messages were generally more difficult to predict while working-class systems were more predictable and stereotyped. (Author/MB)