The study investigated the changes in levels of mathematics anxiety among pre-service teachers in six different sections of a mathematics method courses for early childhood/elementary education pre-service teachers. The changes were a function of using Bruner's framework of developing conceptual knowledge before procedural knowledge and using…

Research (Goodman, Fulbright, & Zimmerman, 1997; IEL, 2001) supports that the most critical decision a school board has to make is its selection and appointment of a superintendent to lead the district toward its mission of effective schooling for all students. Given that board members hold influential power in this regard, what competencies…

Three descriptive statistics (difficulty, discrimination, and reliability) of multiple-choice (MC) test items were compared to those of a new (1980s) format of machine-scored questions. The new method, answer-bank multi-digit testing (MDT), uses alphabetized lists of up to 1,000 alternatives and approximates the completion style of assessment…

In this paper the bootstrap technique was applied to the evaluation of potential predictive bias for different ethnic groups using the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and high school ranks to predict college grade point averages (GPAs). Data of three ethnic groups were used; the total number of subjects was close to 5,000. Both conventional…

Mathematics problem solving skills need to be developed through meaningful interactions. Computer simulations combined with cooperative learning methods provide students a context within which to construct an understanding of mathematics problem solving. This study examines the distribution and sequence of events that result in acquisition of…

It is generally assumed that the inclusion of rich audio/visual presentations in Web-based tutorials will increase student performance. Limited data exist that either support this theory or describe the conceptual framework within which Web presentations are most effective. The author evaluated the efficacy of several Web-based tutorials featuring…

It is proposed that statistical tests for item bias, when they are based on the three-parameter logistic item characteristic curve, should begin by testing for differences in the third parameter, the pseudo-chance level or "guessing" parameter. Other item-bias studies that have not considered the third parameter are discussed. Asymptotic…

TEN TABLES, EACH WITH SEVERAL SUBDIVISIONS, WERE USED TO PRESENT THE VALUES OF "T" REPRESENTING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEANS FOR JUNIOR AND SENIOR KINDERGARTEN GROUPS (1) IN MATCH 1, (2) IN MATCH 2, (3) IN MATCH 1, ISOLATED FOR LANGUAGE, (4) IN MATCH 2, ISOLATED FOR LANGUAGE, (5) IN MATCH 1, ISOLATED FOR FATHERS' EDUCATIONS, (6) IN…

The purpose of this study was to construct a device to measure the cognitive outcomes of inquiry social studies among fourth through sixth grade students. Seventy-five items judged to reflect the cognitive levels of comprehension, application, analysis, and evaluation formed an experimental test given to 694 students. The students were enrolled in…

The capability was studied of each of three models for producing indices that will reproduce school effectiveness rankings established a priori through simulation. The models used were a within-group regression technique, a regression model using individual scores, and a regression model using means. Data for 54 hypothetical schools on input, SES,…

A Monte Carlo technique was used to investigate the small sample goodness of fit and statistical power of several nonparametric tests and their parametric analogues when applied to data which violate parametric assumptions. The motivation was to facilitate choice among three designs, simple random assignment with and without a concomitant variable…

This study was concerned with various schemes for reducing the number of variables in a multivariate analysis. Two sets of illustrative data were used; the numbers of criterion groups were 3 and 5. The proportion of correct classifications was employed as an index of discriminatory power of each subset of variables selected. Of the four procedures…

The Head Start data analyzed by Magidson (1977) were reanalyzed using Joreskog's (1976) LISREL computer program methodology. The hypothesis that the Head Start program produced zero effects on the cognitive abilities of its participants was evaluated by several Chi Square tests. In all cases, the null hypothesis could not be rejected. (Author/CTM)

In a reply to the previous article (TM 503 435), Magidson disparages the arbitrary application of the .05 significance level to these data, responds to several assertions, and provides additional data in support of his original article showing positive effects for Project Head Start. (CTM)

Two easily computed test statistics are proposed for testing the equality of two correlated proportions when some observations are missing on both responses. The performance of these tests in terms of size and power is compared with other tests by means of Monte Carlo simulations. (Author/BS)