Findings of Phase I (Pilot Program) of the Pennsylvania Assessment of Educational Quality program are presented in relation to the design of the phase, the rationale for measurement, the procedures for data collection and data processing, and the results of the first analysis of the data. Tests were given to 1413 fifth graders and 1285 eleventh…

This study was performed to develop and test a theoretical model of the barriers and supports experienced by employees at a major land-grant university that affect their likelihood of incorporating place-based or indigenous knowledge (IK) into their teaching, research, and/or outreach activities. To test this model, we conducted a statewide survey…

Major areas of concern of Pennsylvania school food service management--student participation, labor cost, food cost, and uses of management information--are analyzed and recommendations are made. The management information study is an analysis of the findings from a six-county sample survey of record keeping practices and personal perceptions of…

This paper offers a preliminary analysis of the effects of a semi-segregated school system on the IQ's of its students. The basic data consist of IQ scores for fourth, sixth, and eighth grades and associated environmental data obtained from their school records. A statistical model is developed to analyze longitudinal data when both process error…

This paper details a method for investigating the equity aspects of distributions within school districts of educational resources. To illustrate how to systematically examine in detail the allocation of school resources, the relationship between the distribution of a large number of resources among Philadelphia's public schools and the…

This paper discusses a statistical analysis of the impact on student learning of socioeconomic characteristics, certain aspects of the school environment, and the amount of educational resources expanded on students. It is felt that the analysis is quite similar to what economists do when they estimate production functions for films; but that…

The large difference in average achievement test scores between white students and black students is exacerbated in Pennsylvania by the fact that 90% of the black students are enrolled in only 9% of the state's 500 school districts. The nature of this achievement gap was examined, focusing on the variation of the gap's size as measured within a…

Before there can be an understanding of politics, policy, and action in education, there must be an understanding of the value systems of policymakers. Policymakers, in their talk, in their choices of symbols and metaphors, in their choices of strategies for dealing with conflict, reveal their own needs, their role orientations, their group…

The employment of graduates of all degree levels in Pennsylvania institutions of higher education in 1978 is examined. Data were obtained for 44,264 graduates, or 50.1 percent of all those who graduated from postsecondary institutions in Pennsylvania between January 1978 and August 1978. Survey results are presented separately for baccalaureate…

This report explores some techniques that could assist educational managers in their attempts to arrive at more optimal input and output mixes. Following a review of the literature on input-output analyses in education and a description of the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment Program (the basis of the present study), an empirical…

Superintendents and principals from 50 Pennsylvania school districts were asked to complete two questionnaires each to test, first, the relationships between superintendents' and principals' role conflict and ambiguity and, second, the relationship between superintendents' role conflict and ambiguity and their perceptions of their districts'…

To test the hypothesis that there is no significant correlation between academic achievement and the degree of extracurricular involvement, a study was made of 200 randomly selected students at York College of Pennsylvania. The 200 students were sent a questionnaire designed to elicit the extent of their extracurricular involvement; 65 percent…

Due in part to legislation that was enacted over the last 25 years, the numbers of students with learning disabilities (LD) on college campuses are increasing. With these increasing numbers, it has become apparent that there is a need to focus on the post school outcomes of individuals with learning disabilities, particularly those who attend…

Farm to school (FTS) programs have been getting more and more attention these days. FTS programs aim to increase the supply of fresh, locally grown farm products served for meals and snacks in K-12 school environments, and tend to incorporate educational and experiential components designed to increase students' understanding of and engagement…

A statistical and analytical procedure for selecting states for the purpose of comparing their postsecondary systems with New Jersey's is detailed by a public commission appointed by the New Jersey Board of Higher Education. The approach used factor analysis to examine information on specific variables that describe the socioeconomic and…