Addresses generalizability theory (GT), which offers a flexible framework for assessing dependability of measurement. GT allows for consideration of multiple sources of error, allowing investigators to assess the overall impact of measurement error. Illustrative analyses demonstrate the special advantages of GT for planning studies in which…

Highlighting Success for All, this article argues that federal funds are being used to support the promulgation and biased evaluation of failed programs. Educators need to beware of conflicts of interest and developers' misleading claims about publicly and privately developed programs. Independent evaluators are needed. (MLH)

David Baker and Cornelius Riordan mistakenly claim that Catholic schools failed in the 1950s because they were mediocre. Their article is a house of cards built on a distortion of history and a single new finding that Catholic schools' social-class composition has changed. The "elitism" problem, stemming from rising costs, can be remedied by more…

The exploratory nature of much research on organizational training makes case studies vital to the construction of knowledge and theory. However, case study research poses problems in terms of access to organizations, data collection, confidentiality, and the coordination of multiple studies. (SK)

Explores effects of ignoring one or more levels of variation in hierarchical linear regression analysis, using a model with four hierarchical levels. Ignoring the top or intermediate levels influences fixed coefficients, variance components, and their corresponding standard error and can lead to different research conclusions. (Contains 16…

The narratives of more than 300 qualitative researchers about problems and solutions attempted during research were collected and analyzed to develop three successive descriptive-interpretive frameworks for understanding researchers' lived experiences during the shift from single to multiple research paradigms. The need for more reflective…

A study of 64 single-subject studies examined effectiveness of social skills intervention with students with emotional or behavioral problems. The results of quantitative synthesis procedures that use a percentage of nonoverlapping data suggest that skills interventions had limited empirical support for their overall effectiveness. Implications…

Reviews the Family Privacy Protection Act of 1995 and its potential impact on research and evaluation involving minors. Although this legislation was not passed, the issues related to both active and passive parental consent for the participation of minors in research are very much alive. (SLD)

At regular intervals during the past 20 years, George Psacharapoulos has presented aggregate rates of return (RORs) to investments in education for each major geographical region. He claims high aggregate social RORs for primary education throughout the world. Reexamination of the data shows that none of Psacharapoulos's ROR patterns exist in…

A review of six journal articles on the psychological and psychosocial development of children with hearing impairments indicates that while all suggest that children are at-risk in their psychological and psychosocial development, the articles must be interpreted with great caution since they are based on small study populations. (Contains…

The National Reading Panel admits its evaluation report on phonics is seriously flawed as to organization, methodology, appropriateness of research base, generalizability of results, reliability, validity, and accuracy of data reported. However, an influential public-relations machine is promoting the study's favorable results as unvarnished…

This essay begins by discussing the current cynicism regarding the usefulness of research-based strategies in the field of education. Using examples of high-quality research that utilizes diverse methodologies, a framework is presented for thinking about various types of research and their implications. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Discusses issues inherent in two meta-analyses of instructional interventions for students with learning disabilities conducted by Elbaum and Vaughn, and Swanson. Notes the value of these studies to the field of education, and summarizes important findings. (JPB)

The results of a meta-analysis that found that rewards do not threaten intrinsic motivation have not been well accepted by those who argue rewards produce negative effects under a wide range of conditions. Nevertheless, the results and conclusions of the meta-analysis are held to be valid. (SLD)

Previous studies have suggested that correlations between reaction time (RT) and intelligence (IQ) may have resulted from confounding interactions between stimulus uncertainty and visual angle. Three experiments that were designed to remove the confound were carried out with 118 college students. These experiments indicate that previously reported…