A project is described that helps states provide more comparable, complete, and timely educational information for the annual Common Core of Data (CCD) to be used for policy-making decisions. The Education Data Improvement Project (EDIP), funded by the National Center for Education Statistics, began in the fall of 1985. In the first phase/year,…

This handbook for institutional researchers focuses on describing methods and techniques for conducting and merging external and internal analyses in order to produce an expanded vision of alternative future environments. Such vision is needed for the formulation of strategic long-range plans. Section 1 begins with a discussion of how an internal…

Two trends have inhibited the development of information and ideas, which are vital resources in a modern technological society, First, the Federal Government is engaged in efforts to control the flow of scientific and technical information (STI) to make it less accessible to foreign competitors and hostile nations. Second, the role of government…

A two-part survey of Ohio employers of JTP (Job Training Partnership) Ohio Title IIA participants asked 497 employers about: (1) their attitudes and opinions toward JTP Ohio and their participation in JTP programs (272 responses) and (2) employment and earning data for Title IIA participants who worked in the firm after ending their JTP training…

Fundamental to a realistic assessment of educational quality is an assessment of United States education statistics and information-gathering efforts. This hearing focused on the identification of information needed and steps the Congress needs to take to make education information available on a timely basis so that policy decisions can be made.…

Today's outcomes assessment movement places great expectations on a college's ability to generate longitudinal data on student flow and achievement. Though computers and data managers will play an important role in meeting these expectations, outcomes assessment is not just a data collection task. Its success depends on how clearly the goals of…

While educational researchers frequently collect data from a sample of individuals on a sample of variables, they sometimes collect data involving samples of: (1) subjects; (2) variables; and (3) occasions of measurement. A multistage procedure for analyzing such three-mode data is presented, focusing on effect sizes and graphic confidence…

The Drug Impact Index provides a set of indicators designed to determine the extent of the local drug problem in a community. Each indicator includes a technical note on the data sources, a graph showing comparative statistics on that indicator for the Portland area and for the State of Oregon, and brief remarks on the implications of the data.…

A practical application of generalizability theory, demonstrating how the variance components contribute to understanding and interpreting the data collected to evaluate a program, is described. The evaluation concerned 120 learning modules developed for the Dental Auxiliary Education Project. The goals of the project were to design, implement,…

This report describes the development in 1986 of a management information system by the Sacramento City (California) Unified School District for use in high schools. A nine-page attachment, which comprises two-thirds of the report, offers profiles of selected schools drawn from the databases. Data sets of 200 information items, collected from all…

A study examined ways of improving the response rates of employers to followup surveys collecting information on graduates of community colleges in Florida. Followup study procedures and instruments that had been used in the state were modified to provide for greater faculty involvement in placement of students and identification of employers and…

A project was undertaken at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) in Florida to develop new student follow-up methodologies and to field test these methodologies in order to increase the accuracy of placement and follow-up data supplied to the state; to reduce the number and percent of former MDCC students falling into the "unknown" placement status…

This report describes the program evaluation process as developed by the Eastern Iowa Community College District (EICCD). Introductory materials include EICCD's intent and purpose of program evaluation, a discussion of the three stages/components of program evaluation, and an evaluation flowchart. The report is comprised of three sections, each…

This paper discusses the theoretical scope and practical applicability of generalizability (G) theory through the principle of symmetry. Major ideas are summarized and factors hindering applications of G theory in research conducted in French-speaking Europe are presented. The principle of symmetry affirms that any factor of a design can be…

This project studied the feasibility of using microcomputers for gathering and transmitting farm record information to the analysis portion of the Farm Business Management Analysis (FBMA) program in Missouri. Considerations were given to improving the accuracy of data submitted, the turnaround time to complete the analysis, and other factors…