A variety of reading process models have been proposed and evaluated in reading research. Traditional approaches to model evaluation specify the workings of a system in a simplified fashion to enable organized, systematic study of the system's components. Following are several statistical methods of model evaluation: (1) empirical research on…

Conducted over the past 15 years by the College of Education at Wayne State University (WSU), the studies of several databases that are described in this paper were designed for the specific purpose of providing factual information related to the problems of education in the public schools and in higher education. As a matter of precept the study…

This guide is designed to assist those readers of "The Condition of Education" and similar reports who may lack experience or confidence in reading and understanding statistical information. It serves four purposes (1) identifies and describes the principal features of statistical tables and charts; (2) presents a few illustrations of…

This report describes and evaluates the major computer software packages capable of computing standard errors for statistics estimated from complex samples. It first describes the problem and the proposed solutions. The two major programs presently available, SUPER CARP and OSIRIS, are described in general terms. The kinds of statistics available…

This paper deals with test fairness regarding a test consisting of two parts: (1) a "common" section, taken by all students; and (2) a "variable" section, in which some students may answer a different set of questions from other students. For example, a test taken by several thousand students each year contains a common multiple-choice portion and…

The proposal put forward in this presentation centers on the use of the microcomputer for the generation of educational research, both as a powerful tool for information collection and as a means for analyzing the generated data. The microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) principles described in this paper may be used in rural classroom settings as…

The self-study of Roberts Wesleyan College, prepared for the New York State Education Department (NYSED) Self-Study is provided. The Middle States Self-Study committees were used for review and editorial purposes in the NYSED Self-Study. Information is included on: programs used in the review, curricula and awards, faculty, admissions,…

The relationships between learning conditions and achievement were studied in a sample of 15 urban and 14 rural grade 7 classrooms. Students were administered the Canadian Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) in Vocabulary, Reading, Language, and Mathematics, as well as the Learning Environment Inventory (LEI) and a questionnaire about school, family, and…

This paper presents a case study of a Christian retreat held by the Federation of Greek Orthodox Choirs of the Western States of the Diocese of San Francisco (California), March 14-06, 1986 at St. Nicholas Ranch and Retreat Center, Squaw Valley, California. The religious retreat is defined as a short-term, intensive educational program designed to…

A model of student persistence that considers the role of student finances and student financial aid was investigated in 1980, with a focus on federal campus-based aid. Linear Structural Relations (LISREL), a more versatile technique than traditional path analysis, accounted for 42 percent of the variance in the persistence of 343 new freshmen…

Factors that affect the utility of financial data collected through the Higher Education General Information Surveys (HEGIS) are examined. Attention is also directed to the process associated with the collection and use of that data; roles and responsibilities of various parties to that process, with a focus on researchers' roles; and possible…

The chi-square procedure has been suggested as a viable index of test bias because it provides the best agreement with the three parameter item characteristic curve without the large sample requirement, computer complexity, and cost. This study examines the effect of using different numbers of ability intervals on the reliability of chi-square…

The Special Studies Series of analytical reports, prepared by demographers in the Population Division, Bureau of the Census, present analyses of statistics and suggest possible implications for public policy. Part of this series, the present report uses data from the June 1982 Current Population Survey and updates a June 1977 Census Bureau study…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth's continuous work history files, this paper examines how individual and market characteristics influence the unemployment rates of Hispanic youth. The results show that family income, marital status, post-school vocational education, age, and local unemployment rates significantly influence…

Both quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods were used to compare perceptions of teacher participants and non-participants in a Title II science update inservice program. The purpose of this article is to compare participants' and selected non-participants' perceptions of their motivations to learn using two evaluation methods. Qualitative…