The validity and reliability of two techniques of assessing writing proficiency were compared in a sample of 300 South African students (in Standard 8) for whom English was a second language. The objective, multiple choice method was compared with a subjective, essay method. Students completed a Standard English Second Language Item Bank Test and…

In 1971, the Canada Assistance Plan Directorate of the Department of National Health and Welfare conducted a national survey designed to (1) provide an inventory of day care spaces which would serve as a baseline from which to compare future growth in day care, and (2) evaluate the impact of any new initiative of the federal government in the day…

This paper analyzes data from the "High School and Beyond" study on approximately 30,000 sophomores in 1,000 U.S. schools. The purpose is to explain the contradictory conclusions offered by two recent national studies on public and private schooling. The analysis examines differences between public and private school students in…

The development of the error prone model (EPM) for the 1984-1985 student financial aid validation criteria for Pell Grant recipient selection is discussed, based on a comparison of the 1983-1984 EPM criteria and a newly estimated EPM. Procedures/assumptions on which the new EPM was based include: a sample of 1982-1983 Pell Grant recipients…

The authors report the findings of a study conducted on a dually listed undergraduate/graduate distance learning course for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). They collected data on students' interactions with the course content and course technologies to investigate differences in how graduate and undergraduate students…

The Auditory Automotive Mechanics Diagnostic Achievement Test assesses an automobile mechanic's ability to determine mechanical faults from auditory cues alone. The 44-item test and its instructions are recorded on magnetic tape; answer choices are presented on tape, and are also written in the printed test booklets. The norming and validity…

Because U.S. government expenditures for research and development (R & D) comprise more than half of the total national support in these areas, the government plays the major role in determining the nature and objectives of R & D efforts. This report examines the federal response to national needs in terms of R & D support and changing R & D…

The family of Weibull distributions was investigated as a model for the distributions of response times for items in computer-based criterion-referenced tests. The fit of these distributions were, with a few exceptions, good to excellent according to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. For a few relatively simple items, the two-parameter gamma…

In October 1975 a questionnaire was sent to 200 members randomly selected from the "Directory of Faculty Members Teaching in the Field of Higher Education" to determine satisfaction with their teaching role. The research was designed to test Herzberg's theory, which states that "hygiene factors" (job context) are related to…

The social climate of the early secondary school may be partially responsible for deteriorating parent-child communication and increasing misbehavior among early adolescents. Six hypotheses derived from this assertation were tested by surveying 501 parents and 661 students. The students, in grades 5 through 8, were enrolled in 10 schools that move…

This report examines the status of women and the laws that have been enacted to protect women from discrimination in employment. Written in lay language, it examines employment and occupational statistics for women in the United States and in Kentucky. Following an introduction in Chapter 1, the report presents four chapters surveying the problem,…

This primer is an introduction to item response theory (also called item characteristic curve theory, or latent trait theory) as it is used most commonly--for scoring multiple choice achievement or aptitude tests. Written for the testing practitioner with minimum training in statistics and psychometrics, it presents and illustrates the basic…

The relationship between salary increases and student ratings of teaching effectiveness was studied using a sample of 266 faculty members at Kansas State University. Three measures of teaching effectiveness (student progress in meeting relevant course objectives, liking the instructor, and appreciation of the field of study) and two salary…

The University of North Carolina's thirteenth annual statistical abstract of higher education in North Carolina covers the entire gamut of higher education activities from enrollment data and degrees conferred to more complex analyses like the flow of student transfers among institutions. Chapters include: current enrollment; enrollment trends;…

A study of 1,500 college students was conducted to determine the effect of sex role attitude and cognitive style on the career decision-making of college men and women. An overlapping longitudinal design (which allowed the study of undergraduates at one-year intervals), selected personal interviews, and five measures of sex-role attitude,…