Argues that greater caution is required when drawing conclusions from statistical results than the Armor study has done, and describes the "Prospects" study (begun in 1989), the largest longitudinal study of educational outcomes conducted in the United States. "Prospects" provides much data useful in evaluating the school…

LISREL, a form of multidimensional statistical analysis, is used to analyze the interrelationships of 14 variable elements influencing higher education policy. The aim of the method is to discover which elements carry the greatest weight and, in relationship to which others, in the tension between higher education and government. Focus is on…

Presents a study that analyzes four common grading systems used to assess the performance of 159 students in a business statistics course. Indicates that the accuracy of grades increases with the number of grade categories employed. Contains three data tables and 17 references. (JDI)

Describes a random effects discrete time survival model that addresses problems of measurement error and sample design complexities. Demonstrates the effectiveness of the model in an analysis of retrospective report data on the age of onset of smoking from two cross-sectional school-based studies. (JPB)

The author designed an experiment to determine whether periodical price inflation might be dampened by electronic scholarship. This article discusses results of an econometric analysis of prices for 859 periodical titles for three consecutive years, and concludes with a description of an analytical tool that may be used to assess journal prices.…

Presents a study of methodological validation in speech act research. Discourse-Completion tests (DCTs) and multiple-choice questionnaires (MCQs) designed to elicit requests were administered to two groups of Japanese female undergraduates. Significant differences were found in most situations, with those students completing the MCQ choosing to…

Describes the development and testing of a socioeconomic model that allows any institution to study student persistence in pursuing an education using existing data sources. Indicates how financial aid, student affairs, academic, and financial administrators can use the model for carrying out sophisticated price response research to plan…

A study involving 261 composers, 108 inventors, 392 NFL wide receivers, and 112 eminent inventors found that eminent individuals exhibit a greater rate of creative outputs and that the production of outputs deviates from randomness no more than would be expected from chance fluctuation alone, except for some eminent individuals. (Contains…

Describes when and how to carry out many of the most common statistical tests including mean, standard deviation, confidence limits, correlation, regression, t-test, Chi square test, and ANOVA. Uses Excel to perform these operations. (DDR)

Discusses reference-use statistics in academic libraries. Highlights include new functions and resources, limits of traditional counting methods, ranking the sources, the Internet's impact on instruction, computer-assisted versus one-on-one instruction, and creative solutions to reference services. (AEF)

A statistical analysis tested the relationship of class size, expenditures per student, and socioeconomic status on student achievement test scores in three south Florida counties. Poverty is a primary determinant of student achievement. There is modest support for targeted expenditures for smaller classes above 20 students. (Contains 62…

This study surveyed the states concerning discrepancies between federal and state counts of the number of students identified as visually impaired. States overwhelmingly reported higher state counts than federal counts. Major reasons suggested for the discrepancy are federal count exclusion of students with additional disabilities and of students…

A complex tool, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to evaluate the relative efficiency of major academic research libraries that are members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Results of a two-year base line study using traditional measures taken from 1995-96 ARL statistics are reported. (AEF)

Examines the status of mandated character education in schools throughout Georgia using a questionnaire sent to public school principals. Reveals that the principals' degree of acceptance of character education is fairly strong, while the degree of implementation is significantly below the level of acceptance for 13 attributes of character…

This study uses quantitative and qualitative findings from a mail and online questionnaire to examine the experiences and perspectives of 76 doctoral-degreed social work faculty about the factors that affected their career decisions. The authors discuss similarities and differences between women and men in job-related decision making. Respondent…