This paper reviews the application of the EM Algorithm to marginal maximum likelihood estimation of parameters in the latent class model and extends the algorithm to the case where there are monotone homogeneity constraints on the item parameters. It is shown that the EM algorithm can be used to obtain marginal maximum likelihood estimates of the…

A survey of 317 faculty members at three institutions of higher education in western Pennsylvania was conducted to determine how online reference services and library automation affect the attitude of faculty toward several variables: (1) centralization or decentralization of online reference services; (2) willingness to learn to use and pay for…

The purpose of this research was to determine, through multiple regression analysis, the strength of the relationship of each of six predictor variables (undergraduate major, undergraduate grade-point average (GPA), graduate major, graduate GPA, Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Quantitative score, and GRE Verbal score) to academic achievement…

This investigation of the effect of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on the learning of library skills hypothesized that there would be a substantial difference in the achievement of library skills by those students who received additional drill and practice through the use of CAI and those who received additional drill and practice only from…

This paper examines the effects of labor supply reduction on published measures of the average annual earnings of black men since 1964. Time series data show that black men, who traditionally earn much less than whites, realized major gains in relative earnings between the mid-1960s and mid-1970s, but since the mid-1970s their position relative to…

When learning is taking place, students test their hypotheses and evaluate them, and modify their current theories on the basis of new information. This phenomenon is known as "hypothesis testing view" or "theory changes." Many students change their rules to another while they are taking a test. This study introduced a new…

Diagnostic testing confronts several challenges at once, among which are issues of test interpretation and immediate modification of the test itself in response to the interpretation. Several methods are available for administering and evaluating a test in real-time, towards optimizing the examiner's chances of isolating a persistent pattern of…

This study investigated the extent to which participation by high school students in a computer programming course leads to improved critical thinking skills, and whether a significant difference exists in critical thinking skill development between participants in Pascal and BASIC classes. Three groups of high school students were tested using…

The validity of the equipercentile hypothesis of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (TIERS) norm-referenced evaluation model was examined. The California Achievement Test, Reading, was administered as a pretest and posttest to 3,224 seventh and ninth grade students. The equipercentile hypothesis predicts that the posttest percentile…

The content of the Public-Use Data Tapes of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is summarized and descriptions of recent research using the database are provided. Since 1969, NAEP has surveyed 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students and occasionally young adults in assessments of achievement in art, career and occupational…

This paper examines the multivariate multiple regression model and explores its applicability to communication research. The first section discusses partitioning of a data matrix, as a heuristic device for distinguishing among alternative regression models. Section two examines various aspects of univariate multiple regression, including the form…

The pretest-posttest design referred to as Design 2 by Campbell and Stanley (1963) is commonly used in educational research and evaluation. The tenability of the assumption of a zero population difference commonly used with this design is questioned. A nonzero population estimate based on the mean difference observed in test-retest reliability…

Using computer controlled text presentation that permitted the measurement of reading time for individual sentences, a study tested two hypotheses concerning how schemata guide reading comprehension. The focusing hypothesis suggested that the schemata activated by the reader's perspective might identify relevant information to which additional…

Student team techniques, involving two conceptually distinct components--a cooperative reward structure, in which students are evaluated and rewarded based on the performance of the group as a whole, and a cooperative task structure, in which students are encouraged to peer tutor--have had positive effects compared to control methods on academic…

GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF INFERENTIAL STATISTICAL METHODS AND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN WOULD ENABLE LANGUAGE TEACHERS TO INTERPRET OBJECTIVELY AVAILABLE RESEARCH REPORTS AND HOPEFULLY WOULD ENCOURAGE MORE EXPERIMENTATION. TO UNDERSTAND THE EXPERIMENTAL PROCESS, EDUCATORS MUST REALIZE THAT ANY EXPERIMENT IS AS SUCCESSFUL AS THE EXPERIMENTER IS IN…