Testimony on the need for building an information base on the changing demographics of an aging society in order to make intelligent policy decisions is presented in this Senate committee hearing. Opening statements by Senators Charles Grassley and John Glenn are provided. Jacob A. Brody, dean of the School of Public Health, University of Illinois…

A 12-page summary of the Safe School Study outlines the methodology of the study, seriousness of the problem, extent of the problem, location of offenses, factors associated with school violence and vandalism, and the effectiveness of measures taken to prevent crime in schools. (MLF)

Empirical research--the uncovering of facts about how individuals and institutions within our legal culture actually behave--is a marginal activity in the legal academy. The neglect of empirical work is so deeply embedded in the incentive structure and professional norms of law schools that they are resistant to change. (MLW)

How Title VII of the Civil Rights Act litigation has affected universities is reviewed. The applicability of statistical evidence in university Title VII actions and the different uses courts have made of such evidence are discussed. (MLW)

A guide to help instructors establish grading policies and practices or review and revise current grading procedures is presented. Advantages/disadvantages of four common comparisons used to determine grades are considered: comparisons with other students, comparisons with established standards, and comparisons based on learning relative to…

The development of information for adjustment of the 1990 decennial census conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce is discussed. Policy guidelines for the adjustment decision, which have been the subject of litigation, as well as technical operational plans are outlined. These plans include projects to evaluate the matching process, the…

Examines the statistical methods used and those that should be used to detect cheating on standardized tests and enumerates the legal rights that might be violated by use of inadequate methods. Outlines a model of self-policing that would avoid the disadvantages that flow from resorting to judicial solutions. (Author/IRT)

In the class action suits that have been filed against universities alleging discrimination on the basis of sex in regard to faculty salaries, the task for the courts has revolved around reviewing statistical analyses as the determinant of the existence of actionable discrimination. (Author/MLW)

Cites court rulings that the plaintiff must identify the causal relationship between a statistical imbalance and specific employment practices. Indicates that university promotion, tenure, and salary decisions will be upheld if the judgments are based on a merit system with the criteria of teaching, research, and service. (MLF)

This report analyzes possible causes of current trends in educational achievement and discusses implications for policy. It uses data described in the publication "Trends in Educational Achievement," a Congressional Budget Office study released in April 1986, which assessed data about trends in test scores. This report begins with a…

This report examines the poverty status of persons in 1984 and 1985 using the complete panel file of the 1984 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and compares those findings to poverty estimates based on the Current Population Survey (CPS). Although the CPS is used to obtain official estimates of persons in poverty, SIPP captures the…

The method and means by which statistics can raise a prima facie case of Title VII violation are analyzed. A standard is identified that can be applied to determine whether a statistical disparity is sufficient to shift the burden to the employer to rebut a prima facie case of discrimination. (LBH)

This documentation has been prepared to guide the analyst who intends to analyze the data collected for the Safe School Study. Along with the Volume 2 Methodology report, its objective is to serve as a reference guide to the distributed data files. Together, these two volumes describe the data, the techniques utilized in their collection, and the…

Examines effectiveness of court challenges to education-finance systems in achieving need-driven educational equity, focusing on California, Kentucky, and Texas. Provides overview of education-finance litigation and goals of finance reform. Describes funding system in each state both pre- and post-litigation; uses statistical measures to discuss…

Legislative actions affecting higher education in the state of Washington in 1979, enacted by the forty-sixth Washington state legislature are presented. Numbers and brief descriptions of both House and Senate bills are provided in Section 1. Section 2 summarizes Senate and House resolutions and appropriations act study provisos directed to the…