In the last few years, schools and universities have incorporated personal digital assistants (PDAs) into their teaching curricula in an attempt to enhance students' learning experience and reduce instructors' workload. One of the most common uses of PDAs in the classroom is as a test administrator. This study compared the usability effectiveness,…

This paper provides the results of two studies designed to evaluate a newly constructed self-report instrument, the Sexual Abuse Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ was designed as a brief screening device to aid in the identification of a childhood sexual abuse history. A "unique" feature of the SAQ is the inclusion of a number of non-face…

In large residential treatment centers for adolescent youth, program administrators and clinical staff rely on the information imparted to them by direct care staff to make appropriate decisions regarding administrative and clinical support functions so that the residents in care can receive the best treatment possible. This study was designed to…

In July of 2007, the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) at Indiana University was contracted to conduct an evaluation of the Indiana charter schools. The evaluation has been designed to ensure that all objectives of the provisions of HEA 1001-2007 are fulfilled. In addition, the framework of the study is based in IC 20-24-2-1,…

This paper assesses the impact on economic growth of increased efficiency of public spending in primary and lower-secondary education. Higher efficiency in public spending in schools can bolster growth through two main channels. On the one hand, it can allow a transfer of labour from the public sector to the business sector at unchanged…

This report describes a wide range of successful strategies that states can draw from to increase the educational attainment of their residents while holding down higher education costs. Part I offers examples of strategies, programs, and practices that the authors' research finds can raise educational productivity. Part II describes the levers…

The effects of five ability estimators, that is, maximum likelihood estimator, weighted likelihood estimator, maximum a posteriori, expected a posteriori, and Owen's sequential estimator, on the performances of the item response theory-based adaptive classification procedure on multiple categories were studied via simulations. The following…

Amid growing criticism of public universities, there is little discussion of what appropriate institutional evaluation would entail. Six-year graduation rates are commonly used, and public bachelors granting institutions have lower rates than private institutions, but with the growth in non-traditional college attendance, these can be misleading.…

Objectives: This study investigated the efficiency of a social work care coordination model for stroke patients. Care coordination addresses patient care and treatment resources across the health care system to reduce risk, improve clinical outcomes, and maximize efficiency. Method: A randomly assigned, pre-post experimental design measured…

This paper investigates urban-rural and size effects on public upper secondary school efficiency in Northern Thailand. Efficiency is assessed by a nonparametric technique, namely data envelopment analysis. Urban-rural and size effects are examined through a Mann-Whitney nonparametric statistical test and by Tobit regression analysis, respectively.…

Results are reported for a series of 13 studies examining individual differences in information processing efficiency. The tasks used represented different content domains and levels of processing complexity. A total of 680 individuals (balanced between males and females, and aged 18 to 25 years) were tested. Subjects were selected from…

Since 1989, the United States Agency for International Development (AID) Africa bureau has operated under an Agency-wide Congressional Basic Education earmark, which specifically required the creation of five new basic education programs in sub-Saharan Africa between 1989 and 1991. The Bureau exceeded that goal by initiating primary education…

College is a place for students who really want to earn an education--that is, for students willing to move toward academic excellence and to excell. Lowering standards for any ethnic group dooms that group to the "junk heap of no success." Today, at great cost to the nation, America keeps too many students who are not university…

Concerned with maximizing productivity, the land-grant agricultural colleges have largely ignored the small farmers they were meant to serve, leading to consequences felt not only in rural America but also in much of the underdeveloped world. (KE)

General interest in decentralized decision-making in education is increasing in both Canada and the United States. This paper attempts a preliminary study of school-based management, which shifts some budgetary decision-making authority from the central office to individual schools. Although many academic specialties have explored decentralization…