Examines the concept of the efficiency with which text is entered into a word processor--from the perspective of effective use of keyboard shortcuts. Illustrates how the possibility for productiveness offered by shortcuts, available through the use of features such as Autotext, are often under-utilized by many word processor users, academics being…

Suggests that to develop fluency, educators need teacher-directed lessons in which children spend the maximum amount of time engaged in reading connected text. Presents the National Reading Panel's (2000) examination of research on guided oral reading in order to explore what works. Discusses research on effectiveness of reading practices and…

Discussion of online consumer behavior focuses on the development of a conceptual model and a set of propositions to explain the main factors influencing online price search. Integrates the psychological search literature into the context of online searching by incorporating ability and cost to search for information into perceived search…

The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act requires that schools make ''annual yearly progress'' in raising student achievement, or face possible sanctions. The No Child Left Behind Act places added emphasis on test scores, such as scores from the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), to evaluate the performance of schools. In this paper, we investigate…

Data Envelopment Analysis has become a popular tool for evaluating the efficiency of decision making units. The nonparametric approach has been widely applied to educational production. The approach is, however, deterministic and leads to biased estimates of performance in the presence of measurement error. Numerous simulation studies confirm the…

Often, specialists in the field of Assistive Technology (AT) are presented with the challenge of teaching learners to utilize AT in order to increase, maintain, or improve their capabilities. Despite best efforts, rates of AT abandonment are alarmingly high. Understanding the factors that may influence an individual's choice to utilize AT may…

Based on a sample of ten of the country's 21 public universities, this article examines the relative efficiency of South African universities between 1994 and 1997 using Data Envelopment Analysis. After outlining the nature and limitations of the technique, a series of seven models were tested. Each used a consolidation of the annual output of…

This article explores issues of persistent poverty and income inequality. The major focus is that of the alleviation of poverty. Is there a framework that delineates the roles for government, market forces and self-reliance that can effect a reduction in the level of poverty? The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act…

The present paper tackles the issue of the higher education funding system in Slovenia. Its main attribute is that institutions are classified into study groups according to their fields of education, and funds granted by the state are based on their weights or study group factors (SGF). Analysis conducted using data envelopment analysis tested…

The article tracks the evolution of the English school finance system from 1988 to 2007. Three main periods are distinguished: Establishing Local Management of Schools (1988-1997); New Labour and Consolidation (1997-2002); and Centralizing Labour (2002-2007). Three key criteria are applied in assessing the system--efficiency, equity and…

The recent court decision in Ohio requires that school districts spend a sufficient amount to insure that students are able to meet outcome objectives. Determination of adequate spending is complicated by the influence that fixed socioeconomic factors have on outcome provision; adequate spending will vary depending on the harshness of the…

Given that 74% of undergraduates work an average of 25.5 hours per week while going to school, we know surprisingly little about how off-campus employment affects undergraduates and to what extent its impact varies by the number of hours worked. Our survey of undergraduates at a small liberal arts college found that the academic performance of…

This study uses Data Envelopment Analysis to evaluate the cost efficiency of 52 Italian public universities. In addition to being one of the first such cost studies of the Italian system, it explicitly takes into account the internal cost structure of institutions' education programs; a task not prevalent in past Data Envelopment Analysis studies…

An assessment of internal efficiency allows policymakers and education administrators to understand how cost-effective the desired educational outputs, such as promotion and retention rates of students, are being produced from a given input. In Macau, where private school enrollment accounts for more than 90% of the total K-12 student enrollment,…

Today, it is increasingly difficult for states to adequately satisfy the demand for well-funded and quality public services, such as K-12 education by relying exclusively on traditional, broad-based taxes for fiscal support. State sponsored lotteries are an increasingly popular, non-traditional revenue stream for public education. There is in many…