This essay provides commentary on the place of mathematics in the study and practice of educational administration. The incidence of mathematical topics in the writing of the field is explored, and their isolation from each other and from the body of literature is pointed out. Possible areas of synthesis are sought from the traditional use of…

A psychometric model called Saltus, which represents the qualitative aspects of hierarchical development in a form applicable to additive measurement, was applied. Both Piaget's theory of cognitive development and Gagne's theory of learning hierarchies were used to establish the common features of hierarchical development: (1) gappiness--the…

Four different procedures were used for estimating the proportion of persons who would be classified consistently as either passing both of two parallel tests or failing both. These four methods were applied at each of four different mastery level scores for each of three different length tests. Data were based on 50 replications of each procedure…

This paper discusses specification and interpretation of human capital models of women's earnings when data on actual work experience are available. It uses the segmented earnings function framework developed by Jacob Mincer and Solomon Polachek and considers the effects of data errors, issues involving data interpretation, consequences of model…

In evaluation research studies, it often occurs that several program participants (experimentals) drop out of the program prior to completion. Since noncompleters generally differ substantially from completers in many respects, a control group which originally was representative of the participant group will most likely not be representative of…

This description of a methodology for examining the supply of educated manpower and the demand for their services consists of two major sections, which are devoted to the supply and demand of educated manpower respectively. In the first section, the supply of educated manpower and the demand for educational inputs are considered, the main…

This document consists of two modules. The first studies a variety of multicandidate voting systems, including approval, Borda, and cumulative voting, using a model which takes account of a voter's intensity of preference for candidates. The voter's optimal strategy is investigated for each voting system using decision criteria under uncertainty…

The study of the same people at several occasions is known by various names: panel studies, multi-wave, multi-variable models, cohort analysis, and gain score analysis. The use of econometric concepts, path analysis, and structural equation analysis to study multi-wave, multi-variable models became widespread in methodological practice in the late…

The response of Asian Americans to the American system and to discrimination and the success they have achieved through their method of response is researched in this study. The relationship between the high Asian American investment in education (in terms of years of schooling completed) and observed income distribution is analyzed. Census data…

To eliminate maturation as a factor in the pretest-posttest design, pretest scores can be converted to anticipate posttest scores using grade equivalent scores from standardized tests. This conversion, known as historical regression, assumes that without specific intervention, growth will continue at the rate (grade equivalents per year of…

This paper outlines the design and use of two linear models as decision-making tools in a school district. The problem to be solved was the allocation of resources for both clerical and custodial personnel. A solution was desired that could be quantified and documented and objectively serve the needs of the district. A clerical support model was…

THE PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTICS OF EDUCATION AS AN ECONOMIC GOOD ARE EXAMINED. THE LITERATURE ON THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF EDUCATION, THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO EDUCATIONAL PLANNING, AND THE MATHEMATICAL MODELS PROPOSED FOR THIS PURPOSE ARE ANALYZED. THESE APPROACHES ARE SYNTHESIZED TO OBTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE ESTIMATE OF THE DEMAND FOR EDUCATION. THE…

This paper presents a new method for estimating a given latent trait variable by the least-squares approach. The beta weights are obtained recursively with the help of Fourier series and expressed as functions of item parameters of response curves. The values of the latent trait variable estimated by this method and by maximum likelihood method…

Data are summarized in Scheuneman's Score x Group x Response frequency table in order to investigate item bias. The data can arise from two different sampling models: (1) multinomial sampling in which a fixed sample size is used and the responses are cross-classified according to score, group, and response; and (2) product-multinomial sampling in…

The accuracy with which regression models estimate treatment effects is dependent upon a number of conditions. The stability of the regression line (a function of sample size and correlation between pretest and posttest) is said to be the most important of these conditions. The utility of regression models is proportional to the size of the…