This report describes early childhood education policy making and legislation in several states and discusses research methodology for comparative case study research. The first part of the study provides a historical account of the emergence of the national compulsory attendance movement in the 19th century, and the corresponding growth of early…

This study is designed in part to update a 1965 publication and to note changes in the pattern of State research and research related activities since that time. It is intended to provide State research directors with an exchange of State department practices in organization, staffing, funding, and contracting for research related activities; an…

This research investigated the use of the Rasch simple logistic model in item and test calibration. Tests employing word, picture, symbol, and number analogies were administered to college students, high school students, civil service clerical employees, and clients of the Minnesota Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The results suggest that…

Discusses the instructional effectiveness of various educational media, including illustrations; visual-based instructional media, including films, filmstrips, and television; programed learning; computer-assisted learning; audio-tutorial instruction; methods of group organization; and mastery learning methods. Research methodologies are also…

Reviews empirical research from 1963 to 1991 that compared the instructional effectiveness of games to conventional classroom instruction. It is concluded that subject matter areas where very specific content can be targeted, especially mathematics, are more likely to show beneficial effects for gaming. (41 references) (LRW)

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…

The Post-Education Employment Tracking System (PEETS), operated by the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges (CCC) in cooperation with the State of California's Employment Development Department (EDD), is an automated system for tracking the post-college employment rates and earnings of community college program completers and…

To gain an understanding of the development of the composing process, researchers observed, categorized, analyzed, and collected the writing of 10 Papago third and fourth graders in the Indian Oasis Public School District of Arizona over a period of two years. Of 30 children originally chosen to represent lower, middle, and upper development…

A study compared the benefits of using the Hewlett-Packard HP-41CV hand-held computer, as opposed to conventional training without computers, in teaching mathematics to fire control systems repairers. Thirty soldiers in a course to train fire control systems repairers received training in technical mathematics using the hand-held computer, whereas…

Validity is a central issue in use of self-report data for the investigation of teacher thinking. "Triangulation," or use of several data sets to test, corroborate and elaborate each other, is one method for increasing validity of findings. This paper illustrates a process of triangulation of data obtained by three different data…

Student interaction patterns in eight elementary school classrooms were examined to investigate (1) the relationship between interaction patterns and sociometric indicators of friends, (2) the process by which children become stratified, and (3) the structure of peer relationships in classrooms. Chapter 1, the introduction, briefly discusses the…

This interim report of a pilot year impact study on evaluation methodology is part of a series of documents on the evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity, a Head Start demonstration program aimed at promoting educational and developmental continuity between children's Head Start and primary school experiences. This report deals with…

A feasibility study conducted by the California Postsecondary Education Commission to evaluate alternative means of developing cost-of-instruction data is presented. Five areas of legislative interest in cost-of-instruction information are identified, and issues pertaining to the comparability of cost data and to the accuracy of the data in…

Two rural Louisiana communities were selected to evaluate the effectiveness of certain types of communication in preventing man-caused forest fires. The communities were selected on the basis of differences in fire occurrence rates and other factors related to conservation. Questionnaires and personal interviews were utilized to determine views of…