Two researchers who re-examined a North Carolina district's exemplary SAT performance discovered that this district's gains paralleled those in the rest of the state. The dropout rate also remained high. Most investigations of music, art, and academic learning show positive correlations, but no causal effects. (MLH)

Reviews 1980-95 research exploring the relationship between principal leadership and student achievement. Principals exercise a measurable, but indirect, influence on school effectiveness and student achievement via vision, mission, and goals. Previously described discrepancies may be attributable to researchers' conceptual and methodological…

This article comments on results of a study (EC 629 869) on the reliability of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), a early detection screening test. It discusses concerns relating to clinic vs. population samples, data analysis, use of a parent questionnaire only to identify autism, and the age of screening. (Contains…

This article responds to comments (EC 629 869-70) on a study on the reliability of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), a early detection screening test. It addresses concerns relating to clinic vs. population samples, data analysis, use of a parent questionnaire only to identify autism, and the age of screening. (Contains 6…

Research on childhood disability views disabled children as passive and dependent and excludes the voice of disabled children themselves. Because research has been preoccupied with impairment, vulnerability, and service usage, it has concealed disabled children's role as social actors. New approaches to disability and to childhood are needed to…

Argues for the use of autobiography paired with radical doubt as a strategy to arrive at intersubjectivity, thereby avoiding false claims to objectivity and failure-prone inner (hyper) subjectivity. Uses this argument to introduce the contributions to the special thematic journal issue of which this paper is a part. (Contains 24 references.)…

Considers assumptions underlying design of Bussell et al.'s Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development study. Suggests that a source of the common environment specific to this study is the effect of an individual in mutual ratings of relationship with siblings, leading to a larger common-environment effect across variables than within…

Discusses a controversial benchmark study by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1998 that supported a form of affirmative action for minority-owned small businesses, focusing on some of its questionable methodology and conclusions. Examines program specifics, the benchmark study, data collection and evaluation problems, and who is doing the…

Two University of Missouri researchers say much econometric research on the money/achievement connection is deeply flawed. Data from the "School District Data Book" and Second International Mathematics Study show that money's impact is enormous. In other research, principals' high expectations are pivotal, and children's drawings are…

Discusses PRESTIGE, the project funded by the European Commission within its Training and Mobility Researchers program, describing the research design of the Oxford part of the project. Describes a comparative study of the implementation of the 'European Dimension' in education in England, Scotland, and Wales. Considers the methodological and…

Although nearly 200 million has been invested in producing and rewarding National Board-certified teachers, a study by Lloyd Board and colleagues is the first to assess whether such teachers perform better than their peers. It is uncertain whether researchers' 13 measures of teacher expertise actually correlate with improved student achievement.…

This chapter highlights some of the issues that need to be addressed when operating international campuses and provides a list of questions to help guide relevant institutional research. (Lists 8 online resources.)

This chapter addresses the opportunities and challenges of using alumni research in Spain.

In this study we examined and compared the determinants of first-to-second-year persistence for 1,167 first-generation and 3,017 continuing-generation students at four-year institutions, using data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Survey (Wine, et al., 2002). Because first-generation students are over represented in the most…

Beginning in 1990 with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Statewide Systemic Initiative (SSI) program, science leaders at the state, district, and local levels increasingly have faced accountability issues. Today both private and public funding agencies recommend that proposed projects be based upon scientific research; that is, research…