With accurate information, educators are better able to make effective decisions. Besides being used to assess student performance, a complete program of data collection and use can also show educators how management skills, individual learning styles, and other elements affect student achievement. This digest provides an overview of how…

Although most school districts and schools are routinely involved in data collection, they do not typically use the data they collect in a systematic fashion to identify strengths and weaknesses and develop improvement strategies. One reason for the lack of data use is the perception that the data are being collected for someone else's purposes.…

There are four steps in obtaining test data, each requiring planning and decision-making: assembling students, administering tests, scoring, and recording scores. In assembling students, two cautions are in order. First, for norm referenced tests, students in the treatment group should take the test at the same time of the year as the students in…

This issue of "Network News" takes a look at emerging P-16/K-16 partnerships and data systems. The first article, "P-16 Data and Accountability Systems," by Hans L'Orange and Rick Voorhees (an adaptation of a policy brief) looks at data being used for accountability within P-16 systems and provides some general characteristics…

Few higher education institutions provide systematic information for high schools beyond what is involved in the application/admissions process. The Northern Michigan University (NMU) High School Feedback System was designed to meet the needs expressed by high school personnel in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for increased frequency, quantity,…

Literature indicating high rates of abuse in this population is reviewed, as is literature indicating high rates of developmental disabilities in child victims of abuse. Problems in data collecting practices are noted. Reasons for these children's greater risk for abuse are identified, including child attributes, stress, parent vulnerabilities,…

This bibliography contains annotations of more than eighty books, review-and-synthesis papers, research reports, evaluation studies, and state-of-the-art essays. Titles are listed alphabetically within one of the following five categories: (1) data-base reports, (2) review-and-synthesis papers, (3) evaluation methodology, (4) empirical studies…

One of a series of sixteen knowledge transformation papers, this paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal studies as a method for evaluating vocational programs. First, longitudinal methods are defined for the differences between them and cross-sectional studies are established. The results of a literature search conducted…

This publication provides a comprehensive overview of work done across all parts of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Each issue contains short publications, summaries, and descriptions that cover all NCES publications and data products released during a 3-month period. Each issue also contains a message from the NCES on a…

This SPEC (Systems and Procedures Exchange Center) Kit presents the results of a survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries designed to document how ARL member libraries are collecting, using, and modifying their data on reference service transactions. A total of 74 of 124 ARL member libraries responded to the survey. A…

This manual is designed to familiarize data users with the procedures followed for data collection and processing of the base-year school component of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). A corollary objective is to provide the necessary documentation for use of the data files. The manual provides a wide range of…

The discrepancy evaluation model (DEM) specifies that evaluation consists of comparing performance with a standard, yielding discrepancy information. DEM is applied to programs in order to improve the program by making standards-performance-discrepancy cycles explicit and public. Action-oriented planning is involved in creating standards; a useful…

This policy brief examines issues associated with accurately collecting and reporting placement data for students with disabilities. It notes that existing federal reporting requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and traditional state data systems may actually impede the collection of accurate data regarding the…

This publication provides a comprehensive overview of work done across all parts of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Each issue contains short publications, summaries, and descriptions that cover all NCES publications and data products released during a 3-month period. Each issue also contains a message from the NCES on a…

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) conducted a study of 1,358 bachelor's degree graduates of the class of 1986 to examine two factors: (1) age at entrance and graduation, and (2) length of time required for graduation from several specified beginning points. The study required four sets of data: demographic, age related data, time-frame…