"Methodologist" is more than a title. It is a professional identity. In this project, we three doctoral students in different stages of our training in educational research, measurement, and evaluation examine our liminality and the process of becoming methodologists through the discussion of methodological expertise, quality in…

There is no consensus among researchers on charter school effectiveness in the USA, in part because of discrepancies in the research methods employed across various studies. Causal impact estimates from experimental studies demonstrate large positive impacts, but concerns about the generalizability of these results have prompted the development of…

A research paper by Card and Giuliano took advantage of a natural experiment in a large school district to explore the impact that universal screening policies had on the identification of historically underrepresented minorities in gifted and talented programs. The authors concluded that the universal screening system was more effective than the…

This paper provides practical guidance for researchers who are designing and analyzing studies that randomize schools--which comprise three levels of clustering (students in classrooms in schools)--to measure intervention effects on student academic outcomes when information on the middle level (classrooms) is missing. This situation arises…

The objective of this paper is to provide some practical insight into the process of implementing large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCT) in educational settings and to provide general recommendations for researchers conducting education-based RCTs in the future. The authors draw their recommendations from their recent experiences…

Over the past two decades, community organizing has emerged as an effective force for school improvement. In the context of shrinking education funding, stubborn opportunity and achievement gaps between low-income and wealthy children and between children of color and White children, and polarizing debate on school reform, community organizing…

An 8-week summer institute designed to train 26 public school persons as research workers for their local school districts was conducted at the University of Florida in 1966. A year-long followup consisted of 1 two-day and 4 one-day seminars to discuss and evaluate progress on research under way. Institute courses included: (1) research techniques…

"Charter Schools in Eight States" uses longitudinal data from eight states to evaluate the effects of charter schools on achievement, attainment, integration, and competition. The findings are mixed. "Achievement": The study examines seven jurisdictions and finds insignificant effects on reading and math performance in five,…

AN EVALUATION OF ADULT EDUCATION RESEARCH ON SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS CONDUCTED AT CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS WAS REPORTED. IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS WERE CONDUCTED FOR OCCUPATIONAL, LIBERAL, RELATIONAL, AND LITERACY EDUCATION FUNCTIONS. RESEARCH PROCEDURES WERE (1) TO IDENTIFY, SELECT, AND OBTAIN RESEARCH STUDIES, (2) TO MAKE CRITICAL ANALYSES AND…

A National Institute on Aging-funded pilot project to study advice-giving by older adult mothers to their middle-aged daughters was undertaken in a medium-sized teaching-intensive university. The student body and community are highly diverse, and many undergraduates are first-generation college students. In this context, undergraduate psychology…

A project was conducted to develop and field test a practical model, usable by vocational educators, which would assess the extent to which sex bias and sex stereotyping exist in Florida's vocational education programs. The needs assessment model development phase of this study, accomplished through literature reviews, resulted in the development…

The Chapter 1 Successful Schools project is the product of collaborative development efforts by the Florida Department of Education, the state's Chapter 1 Evaluation Advisory Panel, and Technical Assistance Centers contracted through the Educational Testing Service. This report covers the initial pilot phase of the Successful Schools project. It…

The school-to-work transition of high school and community college vocational program completers in 1990-1992 was examined by analyzing administrative records and employment and earnings data of vocational program completers from state education agencies in Colorado, Florida, Missouri, and Washington. A consistently high percentage of vocational…

The impact of the General Educational Development certificate (GED) on the earnings of high school dropouts who seek the credential were estimated. The estimates were derived by using several different types of estimation methods to analyze data linking Florida GED test information with quarterly earnings records collected by Florida's…

On July 28, 2006, a panel of experts briefed members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on the putative benefits of racial and ethnic diversity in elementary and secondary education. Four experts presented written statements to the Commissioners that assessed the social science literature on this issue. They also addressed whether or not…