A Pennsylvania project to improve the reading skills of commercial drivers and to help them pass the required federal Commercial Driver's License (CDL) written examination was evaluated at five pilot sites. The project used ROAD (Real Opportunities for Advancement and Development) to Success, a basic skills course of interactive computer…

The National Education Goal that calls for increased ability to communicate with other nations and understand other cultures is one of six goals established at the 1989 Education Summit between President Bush and the 50 state governors. In response to this goal, the Joint National Committee for Languages surveyed the National Council of State…

This report presents the results of RAND research conducted at the U.S. Army Signal Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia, to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive videodisc (IVD) system used to facilitate training in a variety of military occupational specialities. The objectives of the study were to: (1) develop a methodology for assessing the…

The rise of the service sector is a major trend common to all western, industrialized countries. Employment in the service sector has increased in 1960-1986 in all 10 countries participating in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation Human Resources project (Japan, Belgium, France,…

This study examined whether there are significant differences in the academic performance and graduation rates of undergraduate transfer students compared to students who entered the general campuses as first-time freshmen in selected 2- and 4-year campuses in Colorado. Four student cohorts were studied within three campuses (Boulder, Denver,…

Little empirical research has documented the impressionistic reports that mature-age students bring a unique and highly desirable set of personal qualities to the teaching profession. To help fill the gap, this study gathered empirical data from both mature-age and college-age students (N=74) on the following: (1) personality characteristics; (2)…

This report describes and assesses the experiences of five two-year/four-year institutional partnerships (eight community colleges with five independent liberal arts institutions) that were undertaken to encourage community college students, especially minorities and educationally disadvantaged students, to pursue baccalaureate degrees at…

This report responds to the California State Legislature request to examine the time needed to complete a doctoral degree and make recommendations relative to methods of increasing the rate of progress toward receiving doctoral degrees through the University of California without compromising the integrity of the academic process. The report…

A study was conducted to determine whether factors found to be related to student persistence in public and independent two-year colleges (i.e., positive college environment, realistic student expectations for career and education, and a sense of belonging) were generalizable to the proprietary sector. Three proprietary institutions in New York…

In an investigation of item bias, the stability of Mantel-Haenszel (MH) estimates across different samples of test takers and different sample sizes and the robustness of the MH procedure with respect to item context effects were investigated. Data from the Second International Mathematics Study (1985) were analyzed. The data consisted of…

Three competing models for public school improvement are described as points of reference. The technical transfer model of school reform focuses on how to better transfer knowledge already in the possession of academics. Placing the locus of authority in the classroom is the main issue of the professionalization model for school improvement. The…

The perceptions of testing directors, school principals, teacher supervisors, and classroom teachers concerning the actual purposes of public school standardized group testing programs were studied. Surveys were mailed to superintendents in 97 randomly selected public school districts. The superintendents forwarded survey packets to selected…

Individualized instruction optimizes time spent by student and teacher for the greatest benefit of both. Most instructional time is currently spent lecturing. By replacing live lectures with recorded lectures, the teacher is free to provide personal, individualized instruction to each student. An effective one-to-one student-teacher ratio is…

Historical and current U.S. data are presented on women and minorities both working in health fields and preparing for these fields as students. The 96 statistical tables with accompanying text concern trends in the education and employment of minorities (Part I) and men and women (Part II) for the following health occupations: physicians,…

This paper highlights measurement issues faced when attempting to assess and interpret results of a school improvement project. Based on the assumption that to measure effectiveness, one must measure a wide variety of school factors, the paper presents a broad perspective on measurement problems and dilemmas in analyzing norm-referenced test data…