Noting that obtaining facts and figures on important policy issues related to children is the critical first step toward identifying what is working and what needs improvement, this Kids Count guide is designed to help local community members find and use data on the condition of children and families in Minnesota. The guide describes how to…

This study investigated the feasibility of collecting enrollment data on distance learning programs sponsored by private institutions within and outside of Washington State. E-commerce developments have allowed in-state independent providers and out-of-state public institutions to serve residents of Washington State, and many nontraditional…

This report summarizes the current statistical programs of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), including its major publications and plans for future work. It updates the descriptions of long-standing data collections such as the Common Core of Data, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, and the National Assessment of…

This document is a report from Los Angeles community colleges on how community colleges may better determine the transfer rates of their students. The proposal states that, due to problems with data collection, calculating a community college's transfer rate is not easy. The California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) reports the number…

This document is the third of four prepared for Phase 1 of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Civics Education Study. The more than 20 countries that participated were asked to gather data to answer four Core International Framing Questions (CIFQs). Volume 2 explains the process from which the CIFQs…

This summary sets out the main findings of an eighteen month research project into the development of basic skills support in colleges of further education in England and Wales. The research was commissioned by the Basic Skills Agency and undertaken by the University of Central England and Bilston Community College. The research was based on…

To provide information about states' efforts to track implementation of key provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), this study examined: state goals for student proficiency and their implications for whether schools will meet those goals; factors that facilitated or impeded state and school district implementation efforts; and how the…

A statewide evaluation in Idaho addressed whether teachers changed in teaching philosophy and technology skills following summer in-service workshops and whether these changes sustained themselves in the face of school year and classroom realities. The timing of data collection is an important factor to consider when interpreting program outcomes.…

In a course entitled "Field Methods for the Study of Education," three themes dominate: professionalism, Darwinian methodology, and application. Unifying these are the notions that the proper use of theory is critical to good ethnography and the natural history/Darwinian paradigm is the central core of the anthropological, ethnological…

Describes a course in ethnographic research methods offered to selected educational researchers pursuing doctorates at the State University of New York, Albany. The course requires each student to conduct a disciplined research project and to keep a personal journal in the process. (GC)

Described are computer assisted instruction exercises designed by a college professor to help undergraduate psychology students acquire fundamental skills in data collection--recording the data, using tables and graphs, and recognizing functional relationships. (RM)

Introduces concepts and terminology of time-based research on teacher effectiveness and outlines a set of data-gathering techniques to obtain information on teacher effectiveness. Provides a theoretical and practical background (variables, basic data, predictive analyses, teaching techniques) of a large-scale study on teacher effectiveness. (EKN)

Meta-analysis of Title I program evaluations shows the norm-referenced model overestimates positive effectiveness; while the regression-discontinuity design underestimates it. Potential biases include residual regression artifacts, attrition and time-of-testing problems in the norm-referenced design, and assignment, measurement, and data…

Describes the general data management and file processing system created by the Open University to assist the tutor-counsellors in their support of students. The differences between the tutorial and the counselling functions are discussed, details are given of the type of information stored on disc. (EAO)