A discussion of new technologies and strategies for monitoring college student progress identifies four stages of developing information systems: (1) problem definition and systems specification; (2) data extraction and synthesis; (3) data analysis; and (4) dissemination. Some trends in use of data sources, analysis types, tracking capabilities,…

Critics of distance education frequently assert that completion rates are lower in distance education courses than in traditional courses. Such criticism comes despite sparse and inconclusive research on completion rates for distance and traditional education courses. This article reviews some of the existing research and then describes some of…

This article reviews ten studies using parent training as a treatment approach for ADHD children. Six elements of research methods are considered: (1) type of parent training program; (2) parental psychopathological assessment; (3) parental involvement; (4) setting of treatment; (5) medication usage; and, (6) follow-up analysis. The studies were…

There are increasing numbers of traditional biologists, untrained in educational research methods, who want to develop and assess new classroom innovations. In this article we argue the necessity of formal research over normal classroom feedback. We also argue that traditionally trained biologists can make significant contributions to biology…

A job analysis was conducted to define the content domain in which newly licensed (certified) biology teachers must be knowledgeable in order to perform their jobs competently. Results of the job analysis will be used to develop test specifications for the Subject Assessment in Biology of the Praxis Series: Professional Assessments for Beginning…

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) developed and administered tests and questionnaires in three student populations to document the quality of mathematics and science education in 45 participating countries. Study design, instrument development, and research procedures were achieved through a complex collaborative…

An evaluation of a school reform project in one kindergarten through grade 5 school in Atlanta (Georgia) is presented to demonstrate how triangulation of qualitative and quantitative evaluation approaches can enhance understanding of a reform effort. During the 1991-92 school year, the final year of the project, Fowler Drive Elementary School…

This report supplies details of the design and data analysis of the 1986 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to allow the reader to judge the utility of the design, data quality, reasonableness of assumptions, appropriateness of data analyses, and generalizability of inferences made from the data. After an introduction by A. E.…

This report is fifth in a series of annual reports identifying students who drop out of Nevada schools during the course of a school year. Dropout data collection has been extended for 1992-93 to grades 7 and 8. Dropout rates are calculated in a fashion consistent with formulas used in earlier state studies, rather than through the method of the…

Researchers and program evaluators would often like to use a particular instrument, but do not because it is too long or would require too much testing time. Having a validated set of objective procedures for reducing the size of an instrument could improve many research and evaluation efforts. This paper reports the results of test reduction or…

Results of a process evaluation of dropout prevention programs in the Leon County (Florida) school district during the school year 1989-90 are presented. Altogether, 11 dropout programs were operationalized in that school year. The methodology used for developing a problem survey among teachers and administrators, the results of the evaluation,…

Ways to approach the evaluation of South Carolina's Parent Education Program are examined. The program's purpose is to improve children's school success by strengthening the family, particularly during the children's first 5 years. Program goals are to: (1) demonstrate effective methods of parent training and support that will enable parents to…

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) was conducted for the first time in 1991 as a way to collect data on the early childhood education experiences of young children and participation in adult education. Because the NHES methodology is relatively new, field tests were necessary. A large field test of approximately 15,000 households was…

The value of collaborative research carried out by local education agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher learning (IHLs) has been established. The middle grades, in particular, present extreme needs and opportunities for collaboration because these years have been relatively neglected in the elementary secondary spectrum of education.…

The annual report presents 1987 activities of the Transition Institute at the University of Illinois which was contracted to assist in evaluating and extending the federal initiative relating to educational and employment difficulties experienced by young people with disabilities. Briefly reported are activities related to the contracted tasks of…