The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance produced this major study of the effectiveness of education technology. Mandated by Congress, the report uses scientifically based research methods and control groups to focus on the impact of technology on student academic achievement. Thirty-three districts, 132 schools, and…

Social promotion has long been the normal practice in American schools. Critics of this practice, whereby students are promoted to the next grade regardless of academic preparation, have suggested that students would benefit academically if they were made to repeat a grade. Supporters of social promotion claim that retaining students (i.e, holding…

The current emphasis on best practices for school-based health and mental health programs brings with it the demand for evaluation efforts in schools. This article describes the challenges of launching a successful school program and evaluation, with lessons learned from three projects that focus on intimate partner violence. The authors discuss…

University students report significantly worse sleep quality than the general population. Sleep problems are related to increased health concerns, irritability, depression, fatigue, and attention and concentration difficulties, along with poor academic performance. Clinical research indicates that psychoeducational interventions are among the most…

The authors used an experimental design to compare the effectiveness of unstructured collaborative practice with individual practice on achievement on a complex well-structured problem-solving task. Participants included postsecondary students (N = 257) from a liberal arts college serving primarily nontraditional students and from 2 state…

Research on teaching can be concerned with teaching in general or it can be conducted with a single kind of subject matter. Which kind of research is more advantageous? This issue arises in the planning of programs of research on teaching. The generic approach looks for uniformities, concepts, and principles that apply across all or many subject…

As a step toward developing a standardized measure for evaluating the impact of child protective services, three indices were developed: the abuse index, the neglect index, and the sexual abuse index. Each is composed of physical indicators of the problem and social and behavioral indicators found to be statistically correlated with physical…

This is a response to the criticism of "Sesame Street" by Herbert A. Sprigle in the December, 1972, issue of "Childhood Education." It is maintained that Sprigle misconstrued and misrepresented the program's mandate and objectives and that the design and reporting of his study are so flawed that his conclusions are virtually…

An overview of factors that should be included in writing an evaluation of programs designed to improve the educational opportunities of Mexican American children is presented in this paper. The factors included are the statement of the problem with which the special program deals, presentation of the background information, and the steps needed…

This brief looks at the research on full-day kindergarten and reports how states and districts are implementing this strategy. It also identifies some of the concerns they must address in doing so, and offers policy considerations. It also focuses specifically on findings from seven recent studies--one each from 1988 and 1991, the rest…

An experimental study of the impact of a prevocational literacy program on subsequent occupational education for military personnel yielded findings that led to a major redesign of the literacy program. (CT)

The major theme is that better and more productive studies could emerge if media research would move out of its traditional either-internal- or-external validity conflict. (Author/MV)

Reviews the book, "Within Our Reach: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage," which takes a new look at research about and programs for disadvantaged young children and their parents. (BB)

This paper argues that inferential statistical analyses as part of group research designs do not provide the kinds of data that are useful in determining the efficacy of clinical intervention with individuals having communication disorders. Replication studies are seen as providing a more fruitful approach to ascertaining the efficacy of clinical…

This article analyzes 41 studies that evaluated K-12 parent involvement programs in order to assess claims that such programs are an effective means of improving student learning. It examines the characteristics of the parent involvement programs, as well as the research design, data, and analytical techniques used in program evaluation. Our…