The advantages that computer adaptive testing offers over linear tests have been well documented. The Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) design is more efficient than the Linear test design as fewer items are needed to estimate an examinee's proficiency to a desired level of precision. In the ideal situation, a CAT will result in examinees answering…

One of the most significant factors, determining effectiveness of any organization is an optimal management of the system, which is perceived as a social organization. Otherwise strategy errors in management potentially undermine the whole system of the organization. Assuming that management based on authoritarian relations may illusionary create…

After their 1969 inception as an electrical academy in a Philadelphia high school, the number of career academies grew steadily for two decades; since 1990, their growth has accelerated. Until the mid-1990s, they existed only as smaller units within high schools, but numerous high schools have since converted themselves entirely into career…

Many Native Americans are reluctant to work with researchers who have not demonstrated a sense of obligation to their community. Research that has proven to be valuable has trained American Indians to collect data, incorporated participatory research methods, and supplemented quantitative data collection with qualitative research. The tension…

The failure of major educational reform efforts to acknowledge the multicultural needs of tomorrow's teachers illustrates the marginal status that issues of multicultural education and multicultural teacher education typically receive. This paper examines the literature on multicultural teacher education. The review suggests that teacher education…

Noting that there has been little research attention on the ability of foster children to form emotional attachments, this literature review looks at available research related to attachment and children in foster care. The review suggests that foster children are at risk for insecure attachment due to experiences of abuse and neglect, parental…

This paper investigated the methodological challenges related to the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to investigate the impact of gender identity on student perceptions of university life. This longitudinal research project at the University of Cambridge (England) sought to determine the reasons for the disparity in numbers of…

"Sesame Street," 30-years-old in 1999, is possibly the most influential program in children's educational television. This book collects and synthesizes key research studies since the program's inception, describing the processes by which educational content and research are integrated into production, reviewing major studies of the…

Examines in 13 articles, three areas of change in family research methodology. Considers major determinants of change in the subject matter of family studies. Addresses the central measurement problem of family studies, i.e., relationships. Presents illustrative examples of the advancement of research technologies in family studies. (RC)

A review of the literature suggests that choice of control group may have affected the policy implications of the major evaluations of governmental training programs. It is argued that the usual evaluation designs underadjust for preprogram differences between trainees and the control group and thus yield biased estimates of program impact.…

This article reviews research on mainstreaming handicapped children. Topics include methodological problems, case studies, child-child interaction, peer imitation, mainstreaming and the teacher, the family's role, and transition and follow-up. Implications for early childhood educators are listed. (Author/DB)

The judicial branches of government have unique needs for evaluative information and limited resources; this must be recognized in order to increase the utilization of applied social research by courts and lawyers. (Available from: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 433 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104, single issue, $6.95.) (GDC)

Contract research has increased because of: agencies' time limits; governmental agencies' skepticism about academics' practicality; and a power struggle between government and universities for control of the information production business. Implications of the increase in contract research are discussed and recommendations are made. (MH)

Title I Evaluation models using uniform procedures and data collection for state and national comparisons are interpreted as federal endorsement of basic, common competencies in reading and mathematics. Basic competencies, content homogeneity, conversion methodology, and validity of the evaluation are discussed. (MH)

Reflects upon the process of writing a thesis, from the initial choice of topic through the selection of case studies and organization of interviews and supporting material, to the data analysis and writing. Discusses some of the problems that were encountered at each stage. (MJP)