The present study examines the effect of the cooperative Jigsaw II method on improving literal and higher order reading comprehension in English as a foreign language (EFL). Forty-eight ( n = 48) students of EFL participated in the study and a pretest-posttest control group experimental design was employed. The results indicated no statistically…

Across the United States, business leaders and educators agree that too many high school students are graduating without the skills they need to succeed in the workplace or in higher education. This lack of preparation leads to problems in meeting the needs of the economy, and it means remedial classes for college freshmen. Included in this…

The "2004/06 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/06)" is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to respond to the need for a national, comprehensive database concerning issues students may face in enrollment, persistence, progress, and attainment in postsecondary education and in consequent early rates of…

This paper argues that research assessment is of increasing importance as an instrument of New Public Management and within the context of efforts to establish a European Research Area. Specifically, it compares the procedures of research assessment in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany in an attempt to distil basic design…

This report summarizes tasks undertaken to assess the feasibility of a longitudinal analysis of elementary and secondary schools. The initial objective was to see if it was technically possible to analyze overlap samples of schools from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to produce substantive findings. Over the course of the project various…

A meta-analysis of 29 separate studies investigating pretest effects was conducted. Outcomes of the studies (achievement gains or attitude improvements) were computed as standardized differences between pretested and non-pretested groups. Eleven other variables were coded for each outcome. Initial descriptive statistics were indicative of…

States participating in the National Assessment of Educational Progress State Assessment program (state NAEP) are required to sample at least 2,500 students from at least 100 schools per subject assessed. In this ideal situation, 25 students are assessed for a subject in each school selected for that subject. Two problems have arisen: some states…

A variety of preschool curricula is available and in widespread use, however, there is a lack of evidence from rigorous evaluations regarding the effects of these curricula on children's school readiness. The lack of such information is important as early childhood center-based programs have been a major, sometimes the sole, component of a number…

The causes of rural/urban educational inequalities are multiple and diverse, and their analysis requires multi-disciplinary, longitudinal research. In this Polish study, preliminary examination of macrostatistical data on rural/urban disparities revealed the limitations of dichotomous analysis. In a broad, in-depth approach designed to develop a…

The District of Columbia School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 was passed by Congress in January 2004. The Act provided funds for District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) improvement activities and charter school facility acquisitions. Most notably, the statute established what is now called the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program?the first federal…

This paper examines how controlling statistically for baseline covariates (especially pretests) improves the precision of studies that randomize schools to measure the impacts of educational interventions on student achievement. Part I of the paper introduces the concepts, issues, and options involved. Parts II and III present empirical findings…

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a data collection system of the National Center for Education Statistics that concentrates on aspects of education that can best be addressed through contacts with households rather than institutions. The NHES is a telephone survey of the noninstitutionalized civilian population of the United…

This report describes the methods and procedures used for the 2000 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:2000). NPSAS:2000 included notable changes from previous NPSAS surveys (conducted in 1987, 1990, 1993, and 1996) in its sample design and collection of data. For example, this study is the first to restrict institutional sampling to…

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a data collection effort of the National Center for Education Statistics that collects and publishes data on the condition of education in the United States. The NHES is designed to provide information on issues that are best addressed by contacting households rather than institutions. It is a…

This paper presents results of a review of mail survey response literature and provides recommendations for the application of some response-enhancing techniques to the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) of the National Center for Education Statistics. The SASS is an integrated set of surveys sponsored by the NCES and conducted by the Bureau of…