This one-page consumer education materials evaluation form has been developed as a checklist for developers and users of business-sponsored educational materials. Criteria listed include issues such as target audience, design, and usability as well as objectivity and how the business sponsor is identified. The form is intended to prevent…

This report summarizes results of a 1984 study of the lifestyles, values, buying behavior, and media habits of the Hispanic American market. First, a number of shifts in U.S. political, social, and economic life (since 1981, when the first study of this type was conducted) which are changing the orientation of Hispanics are discussed. These shifts…

Cognitive and affective impacts of the "Give and Take" series on students and sources of differences in the impacts are investigated. "Give and Take," an audiovisual series on topics and concepts in personal economics for use in grades 9-10, consists of twelve 15-minute programs designed to help students increase their…

A project was conducted to develop a criterion-referenced student testing program for secondary home economics (consumer education) in South Carolina. Procedures used to develop the test included the following: (1) the content elements of the consumer education curriculum were identified; (2) each content element was classified into the type and…

On January 23, 2004, President Bush signed the DC School Choice Incentive Act into law. This landmark piece of legislation included $14 million in funding for what would come to be called the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). The OSP is the first federally funded K-12 scholarship program in the country and is designed to provide…

The extent to which an individual's total debt capacity is absorbed at the point of college graduation is examined, along with the graduate's self-imposed debt limits and the debt limits established by the marketplace. The findings are based on the a survey of creditors and the consumers who had student loans. Attention is also directed to data…

"Give & Take" is a series of 12 15-minute television/film programs and related print materials on consumer economics designed to improve the economic knowledge and decision-making skills of 13- to 15-year-old students. This report describes the processes and presents the results of"Give & Take" formative evaluations…

A research study designed to measure understanding of economic terms among 13- and 14-year olds is summarized. For purposes of the study, two tests were constructed: a 10-item questionnaire focusing on definitions of words such as banking, production, costs, money, and wealth, and a compilation of drawings and photographs developed to reflect…

A nationwide test of consumer knowledge of high school students conducted in 1991 found that seniors are unprepared for critical purchasing decisions needed after they graduate. Random samples of the population, 428 high school seniors, were asked 250 questions about a range of consumer subjects such as credit, checking/saving accounts, auto…

This study used an American Council on Education model to determine the economic impact of Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) on the local economy. Data were gathered from university fiscal records and questionnaires disseminated among three university constituent groups: faculty and staff, students, and alumni. Each group was asked to…

A study applied research concepts from consumer product involvement to test a model for research on involvement with social issues. Issue involvement was defined as the state or level of perceived importance and/or interest evoked by a stimulus (issue) within a specific situation. Attitudes on four social issues--abortion, pornography, the…

This is a collection of consumer skills items for state and local education agencies to draw upon in composing consumer skills instruments. It provides items to assess seventeen-year-olds' consumer skills. The booklet contains items classified under eight major topics: behavior, contracts, economics, energy, finances, mathematics, projection, and…

The complexity of the federal tax code has been the focus of reform efforts for decades, and has received considerable attention in the economic literature. The federal system for distributing student financial aid is similarly convoluted, yet has received relatively little attention from economists. For the typical household, the aid application…

The following steps have been taken to accomplish the goals of the Wisconsin Pupil Assessment Program: the development of objective-referenced tests; the administration of a standardized norm-referenced test; reporting of trends in performance on these tests; and the availability of two testing services and personnel for consultation purposes.…

This collection contains 41 cognitive objectives and related test items for home economics, grades 10-12. It is organized into the following categories: child development (home discipline); clothing and textiles, consumer practices; design principals; health services, home management and family economics; housing; and pregnancy. Each objective is…