During the 1980s the 15 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states led the nation in implementing new standards and programs to improve the quality of education. The most common goals set by SREB states include: (1) ensuring that all children are ready for either first grade or kindergarten; (2) improving accountability programs in which…

A unit of study that introduces sorting and classification as a way of organizing data is presented. Suitable for students in grades 2 and 3, it provides a foundation for further work in statistics and data analysis. The investigations may extend from one to five class sessions and are grouped into three parts: "Introduction to Sorting"; "Sorting…

This is the second of two volumes of a report summarizing participation and achievement information from the 1984-85 school year of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 1 Migrant Education Program. This volume presents achievement information provided by state education agencies. Because of language and mobility problems,…

This pamphlet provides suggestions for students concerning how to best use and interpret educational research. Students should recognize that there is nothing wrong with questioning research. Among the myths that must be challenged are that if something is published, it must be true, and that scientists are objective and uninfluenced by societal…

This report describes the results of a survey of superintendents about current evaluation practices. From a nationwide random sample of 2,576 school district superintendents, usable replies were received from 1,245 superintendents. The survey instrument included questions about the frequency of superintendent and school board evaluations, the…

Growing institutional concern for excellence coupled with legislative mandates calling for accountability have prompted many colleges to emphasize student outcomes when evaluating and designing courses and programs. A careful review of the accountability literature, however, suggests that continuing education courses and students, in spite of…

This book investigates how workers use computers and how they learn the needed skills, based on a study of 140 occupations in which computers are currently used. Its main finding is that relatively few workers need a lot of computer-related training. Chapter 1, the introduction, discusses the rapid growth and spread of computers across a wide…

The Southern Rural Development Center in cooperation with the University of Kentucky sponsored a workshop which brought together extension and research personnel interested in rural economic development concerns (i.e., inadequate water supplies, sewer systems, and schools). The proceedings include "Community Growth Management: The Land-Grant…

This two-volume report on the progress of the Instructional Program in Reading/Language Arts (IPR/LA) in the Montgomery County, Maryland schools presents a brief overview of the study design, methodology, findings, recommendations, background data, and statistical analysis tables. Volume I of the report begins with an Executive Summary of the…

Information is presented about the administrative computing activities of colleges and universities belonging to CAUSE (the professional association for computing and information technology in higher education). Profiles and trends are provided based on 1985 Member Institution Profile Surveys conducted in 1980, 1983, and 1985. A total of 350…

The purpose of this report was to explore one way in which quantitative and qualitative paradigms in program evaluation can be employed to reinforce each other. An evaluation was conducted of a large number of special education programs for preschoolers with handicaps in Louisiana. Since 1978, Louisiana has funded programs in 65 public school…

The Job Training Placement Act (JTPA) of 1982, a federally funded program directed by individual states, provides financial assistance to any state education agency responsible for education and training. Section 123(b) of the JTPA requires states to match the federal assistance with income from other sources. This paper reports on the study…

This report provides excerpts of statistical information derived from a study conducted by surveying representative samples of 4,500 public schools and 1,700 private schools in the United States. Survey methodology is described; the limitations and appropriate use of the data are considered; and sampling errors are discussed. The report includes…

This fact sheet compares statutory data collection and reporting provisions of the federal education block grant (chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981) with the nine other block grant programs funded in fiscal year 1986; data on statutory administrative cost limits are also provided. Each grant's legislation was…

This study addresses the test-disclosure-related need for more Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test editions in a situation where the number of examinees is stable or declining. Equating is used to guarantee that examinees of different test editions are treated equitably. The data collection designs used in this study were: (1)…