Validation studies, placement-enrollment comparisons, student surveys, and instructor interviews are discussed as operational methods in a synthesizing approach to undergraduate course placement evaluation. A range of suggested questions is coupled with various data sources in placement evaluation schemes and system procedures. (CM)

The ERS Standard for Program Evaluation encompass front-end analysis, evaluability assessment, formative evaluation, impact evaluation, program monitoring, and evaluation of evaluation. Written as simple admonitory statements, the Standards are organized into sections on formative and negotiation, structure and design, data collection and…

Rebuts the claims of Trusheim and Crouse, made in an earlier issue, that Scholastic Aptitude Test scores are no more effective predictors of college success than is high school class rank. Discusses inaccuracies in the data used by Trusheim and Crouse and points out errors in their analyses. (PGD)

A study was conducted to identify and compare the work values of high school seniors, their teachers, and first-level line managers in industry. Analysis revealed differences concerning status, age category of managers, job plans of students, locations of schools attended by the students, and sex category of students. (Author/CT)

Separate selection and pretesting of students eliminate regression effects in the pre-post achievement gain measured in the RMC Model--A method of program evaluation. (CP)

Using National Longitudinal Survey panel data on wages of married women, the authors found that real wages at reentry are lower than at the point of labor force withdrawal, and the decline in wages is greater, the longer the interruption. Discusses how this data affects immigrants to the United States. (CT)

Reports on a study in which data extracted from U.S. Individual Income Tax returns filed by vocational trainees three years after their graduation are used to analyze their economic performance (including income and employment rate), and their geographic mobility patterns. (CT)

Observation is examined as a method of gathering information about the behavior of school administrators. Relevant literature on the methodology of observation in terms of the process of observation, recording and coding, and the role of the observer are considered. (MLW)

Used 1969-78 data from St. Louis, Missouri, to: (1) examine mean annual salaries of full time teachers in metropoolitan St. Louis; (2) build a surrogate salary schedule by using certain combinations of training and experience; and (3) follow individuals through up to 10 years to determine their salary gains relative to inflation. (Author/GC)

This report examines the extent to which Americans participated in the labor force, worked, or looked for work during 1979. It also takes a look at changes in work activity over the past decade as reflected in the work experience data. (Author)

Changes in the aggregate distribution of job skills result from changes in the distribution of employment among occupations as well as from changes in the skill requirements of individual occupations. This study measures the effects of these factors on the distribution of skills in the United States from 1960-1979. (Author/CT)

The possible bias resulting from excluding nonresponders in tabulating data from mail survey questionnaires in a dentist population was investigated. The differences between the responders and the nonresponders were analyzed with respect to the dentists' demographic data, attitudes, and knowledge. Nonresponse bias did not affect the results of…

Misleading data reports concerning faculty pay and benefits have resulted from several errors: missing data, misleading data, misinterpreted data, and mistakes in data. Data will be understood only if examined in the context of institutional research, which takes into account the insights of the behavioral sciences. (CT)

A matrix approach can solve the problem of identifying quality technical education programs. This method focuses on the end products of the program rather than on the educational process itself. Educators must use their professional competencies to judge program quality based on follow-up data and costs per pupil per program. (CT)

To shed light on the prevalance of families choosing one residential area over another on the basis of the quality of schools in each area, the article explores whether a geography of intelligence exists in a small Kentucky town of approximately 20,000 people. Findings indicated significant spatial associations among IQ, achievement, and…