This book looks at a sampling of notable socio-technical problems within a rational context. It seeks to determine if problems exist with recent decisions in the application of technology; how threatening any problems may be; the source of problems; and examines alternatives available to the nation. The broad goal of this rational consideration is…

This resource guide, one of seven related documents, contains suggestions and materials to help schools implement a six-step needs assessment process. The guide is divided into ten sections that cover alternative needs assessment systems, informing the community, felt needs instruments, sample preplan, data analysis tips, reporting results, causal…

This paper discusses a longitudinal, exploratory study of developmental dimensions related to object permanence theory and explains how multidimensional scaling techniques can be used to identify developmental dimensions. Eighty infants, randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups and one of four counterbalanced orders of stimuli, were…

The results of a mailed questionnaire survey are presented showing the opinions of a sample of teachers concerning the importance to them of 41 competencies related to measurement and evaluation. Out of a sample of 100 elementary school teachers, 50 junior high school teachers, and 100 senior high school teachers, 58 percent responded to the…

TO DETERMINE WHETHER A MASTER'S DEGREE SHOULD BE REQUIRED OF TEACHERS IN A PROPOSED NEW BURBANK SCHOOL DISTRICT SALARY CLASS, 3 QUESTIONS WERE INVESTIGATED (1) DOES THE ACQUISITION OF A MASTER'S MAKE FOR GREATER IMPROVEMENT IN TEACHING THAN AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF UNIVERSITY TRAINING IN OTHER AREAS, (2) DOES THE MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAM OR THE SCREENING…

THE THEME OF THIS PROGRAM WAS THE USE OF PROBABILISTIC MODELS AS MEASUREMENT TOOLS FOR EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN IN TEST CONSTRUCTION AND FOR ANALYSIS OF TEST DATA. SOME CENTRAL ISSUES IN THIS FIELD ARE DISCUSSED AND RESOLVED IN THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS OF THE REPORT UNDER THE FOLLOWING TITLES--(1) CONTRIBUTIONS TO ITEM SELECTION, (2) CLUSTERING…

This paper critically reviews sociological literature on youth protest. The major objective is to ascertain whether existing perspectives on youth movements are adequate to explain historical change in modern society. Most sociological research on youth activism is predicated on either a family socialization model or a structural functional model.…

The third (1978-79) of three writing assessments conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is reported. The writing achievement of American 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds was surveyed using a deeply stratified, multistage probability sample design. The specific procedures used in the assessment to develop objectives and…

Relevant conceptual frameworks must guide data collection and analysis if data are to be useful to service program planners and administrators. Such frameworks are increasingly important in the systematic assessment of the total array of services in a planning region. This paper describes a two-dimensional classification matrix developed in…

This document consists of appendices to the report of pretest results and the posttest analysis plan for the quantitative component of the multimethod evaluation of the Head Start Bilingual Bicultural Curriculum Development Project. Appendix A provides criteria for scoring mean length of utterance for the bilingual syntax measure. Appendix B…

Thirty-five hundred public school library/media centers in 50 states were surveyed to obtain estimates of library resources and services available to pupils, and to determine the extent to which resources are an integral part of education. A description of libraries in public schools is provided, with additional analyses and data tables of basic…

A research study examined change in the quantity of leisure participation attributable to conversion from a five to a four-day workweek. Change in quantity was defined as (1) frequency change or change in the amount of time devoted to leisure, (2) activity change or change in the number of different leisure activities pursued, and (3) perceptual…

A complex two-stage sample selection process was used in designing the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. The first-stage sampling frame used in the selection of schools was stratified by the following seven variables: public vs. private control, geographic region, grade 12 enrollment, proximity to institutions of higher…

The construction of general linguistic theories is subject to errors of fact and perspective. The theoretical linguist is inclined by the nature of his work to fall into such errors because he/she is obliged to generalize about many languages on the basis of research done in one or a few. The scope of this task inevitably leads to a failure to…

Papers are presented from a 1978 working conference on measuring financial conditions of colleges and universities. Contents include the following: "The Federal Government's Interest in the Development of Financial Measures" by M. Chandler; "Improving the Conceptual Framework for Measuring Financial Condition Using Institutional…