A statistical test is described which determines homogeneity of effect size of an experiment series. An overall fit statistic is partitioned into between-class fit statistic and within-class fit statistic. These statistics permit assessment of differences between effect sizes for different classes and homogeneity of effect size within classes.…

The problems and progress of a group of students designated as disadvantaged upon college entry and demographic factors that may be critical predictors of disadvantaged students' academic failure in a course are examined. Special advising and intervention are recommended, so that students need not take the initiative to seek help. (MSE)

A comparison of commuting and noncommuting college students indicates that a student's residential context has a significant influence on his relationships with his parents and with his peers, and on his self-esteem. (EB)

This paper examines Native American orientations on a variety of political and social issues. These opinions are contrasted to those of Blacks, Spanish Americans, and Anglos. Factors such as educational level, age, sex, and place of residence are considered. Implications of the study are also explored. (Author/EB)

Data presented in this paper suggest that mentally retarded males are more likely to be institutionalized than retarded females, and that males tend to be institutionalized at earlier ages and for milder disorders. (Author/EB)

Investigated in this article are several factors that affect the annexation by central cities of urbanized areas to retain decentralized populations. A multivariate model of the responses of central cities to over- and underboundedness is presented and evaluated. (Author/EB)

It has been proposed that the Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status and its scoring criteria should be adjusted to utilize a half standard deviation cutoff. Evidence is provided to support the claim that less stringent criteria will lead to higher numbers classified while arriving at the same research results. This proposal is considered and,…

A general linear latent trait model for continuous item responses is described. The special unidimensional case for continuous item response is the model of K. G. Joreskog (1971) of congeneric item response. The correspondence between models for continuous and dichotomous item responses is shown to be closer than usually supposed. (SLD)

Using simulated and real data, this study compares the performance of three methodologies for assessing unidimensionality: (1) DIMTEST; (2) the approach of Holland and Rosenbaum; and (3) nonlinear factor analysis. All three models correctly confirm unidimensionality, but they differ in their ability to detect the lack of unidimensionality.…

Whether or not subjects can simulate mental retardation, a consideration that has implications in criminal cases, was studied using 21 adult Caucasian males between 20 and 30 years of age, largely comprised of students and staff employees of the University of New Mexico. Subjects were asked to give genuine and simulated responses to two major test…

C. L. Olson (1976, 1979) suggests the Pillai-Bartlett trace (V) as an omnibus multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) test statistic for its superior robustness to heterogeneous variances. J. Stevens (1979, 1980) contends that the robustness of V, Wilk's lambda (W) and the Hotelling-Lawley trace (T) are similar, and that their power functions…

An attempt was made to determine which item response theory (IRT) equating method results in the least amount of equating error or "scale drift" when equating scores across one or more test forms. An internal anchor test design was employed with five different test forms, each consisting of 30 items, 10 in common with the base test and 5…

This study investigated the robustness of the James second-order test (James 1951; Wilcox, 1989) and the univariate F test under a two-factor fixed-effect analysis of variance (ANOVA) model in which cell variances were heterogeneous and/or distributions were nonnormal. With computer-simulated data, Type I error rates and statistical power for the…

Despite statewide standards, the accuracy of statistical data on dropouts reported by New Jersey schools appears to vary considerably from district to district. Moreover, statewide dropout rates differ significantly depending on the method of calculation used. Several different methodologies, which incorporate unverified information collected from…