This book offers a theoretical justification for online writing instruction (OWI) and a fully developed approach to training educators for such instruction--whether in networked classrooms, distance learning, e-mail- or Internet-based conferences, or online tutoring. The book includes concrete examples of asynchronous (non-real-time) and…

This issue of The Progress of Education Reform summarizes recent research on the issue of teacher supply and demand, including: (1) An analysis of urban district hiring practices, and their effect on applicant attrition and teacher quality; (2) An examination of the role of teacher turnover in school staffing problems, and the extent to which…

In the first manuscript, preference and interest studies are examined for the purpose of determining the issues involved in guiding educational professionals in the selection of books for free reading in the classroom and the library. Studies which examined books that children actually read rather than studies investigating topics children might…

This paper represents the initial step toward developing a model for retaining administrators of color at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) in higher and postsecondary education. Retaining administrators of color is an important measure for diversity in higher education. Data for this paper were derived from two Delphi studies that explored…

When multiple regression is used to develop a prediction model, sample size must be large enough to ensure stable coefficients. If sample size is inadequate, the model may not predict well in future samples. Unfortunately, there are problems and contradictions among the various sample size methods in regression. For example, how does one reconcile…

This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit reports results of a survey of ARL (Association of Research Libraries) that examined the nature and structure of the interview process at large research and academic libraries in the United States and Canada. By determining the nature and structure of the interview, it is hoped that candidates…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of instrument completion instructions on univariate and multivariate distributional characteristics and relationships among variables. Instructions allowed free-choice allotment of ratings (unforced instructions) or requested the subject to assign a certain number of ratings to either the highest…

This Digest provides an overview of children's online magazines, also known as e-zines. It begins with a brief review of factors that contribute to the popularity of these publications, followed by a list of criteria for selecting high-quality online magazines for children. Samples of high-quality children's e-zines are also included in this…

Test security has often been a problem in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) because the traditional wisdom of item selection overly exposes high discrimination items. The a-stratified (STR) design advocated by H. Chang and his collaborators, which uses items of less discrimination in earlier stages of testing, has been shown to be very…

In the a-stratified method, a popular and efficient item exposure control strategy proposed by H. Chang (H. Chang and Z. Ying, 1999; K. Hau and H. Chang, 2001) for computerized adaptive testing (CAT), the item pool and item selection process has usually been divided into four strata and the corresponding four stages. In a series of simulation…

This book provides crucial information about selecting and administering outcome assessment measures, collecting and interpreting data, and using outcome information in practice. It provides the information mental health professionals need to practice knowledgeably, efficiently, and ethically in todays' behavioral health environment. The chapters…

In response to a Congressional request, the General Accounting Office studied the process that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses to select projects for the homeless for funding, whether this process is consistent with statutes and community priorities, whether communities face any common problems when applying for HUD…

Urban districts around the United States are attempting systemic change by offering schools a "menu" of externally developed school reform designs. Yet, how do faculties who are relatively unfamiliar with the designs choose among them? This question is addressed by analyzing qualitative data collected in the Memphis City Schools…

Noting that nonfiction literature for children came of age in the 1990s, this book is a comprehensive tool for K-8 teachers, librarians, and students to use in learning to make good decisions about the quality of nonfiction titles. Each chapter in the book describes a specific aspect of the complexity found in nonfiction literature: the various…

Item selection methods in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) can yield extremely skewed item exposure distribution in which items with high "a" values may be over-exposed while those with low "a" values may never be selected. H. Chang and Z. Ying (1999) proposed the a-stratified design (ASTR) that attempts to equalize item…