This study examined the influence of survey validity screening on the results from three group-administered school surveys administered to samples totaling approximately 5500 students in 19 schools. The estimated levels of risk behaviors, antisocial behaviors, and victim experiences were substantially reduced when respondents who gave multiple…

Many educators and researchers are trying to define statistical literacy for the 21st century. Kimura, a Japanese science educator, has suggested that a key task of statistical literacy is the ability to extract qualitative information from quantitative information, and/or to create new information from qualitative and quantitative information.…

This paper outlines procedures used to derive variables from data in the National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty; these variables were then used to create measures not expressly included as items in that survey. The derived variables were used to examine faculty satisfaction in two contexts: first, the complexity of satisfaction, and second, the…

The present paper suggests that multivariate methods ought to be used more frequently in behavioral research and explores the potential consequences of failing to use multivariate methods when these methods are appropriate. The paper explores in detail two reasons why multivariate methods are usually vital. The first is that they limit the…

The study compared two promising item response theory (IRT) item-selection methods, optimal and content-optimal, with two non-IRT item selection methods, random and classical, for use in fixed-length certification exams. The four methods were used to construct 20-item exams from a pool of approximately 250 items taken from a 1985 certification…

A previous study of pre-equating the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) using item response theory provided unacceptable equating results for SAT-mathematical data. The purpose of this study was to investigate two possible explanations for these unacceptable pre-equating results. Specifically, the calibration process, which made use of the…

Item analysis data fitting the normal ogive model were simulated in order to investigate the problems encountered when applying the three-parameter logistic model. Binary item tests containing 10 and 35 items were created, and Monte Carlo methods simulated the responses of 2,000 and 500 examinees. Item parameters were obtained using Logist 5.…

The problem of determining optimal test lengths with fixed total testing time has proved to be a difficult one for criterion-referenced test developers. An algorithm is needed which can be used by test developers to allocate available testing time to maximize the validity of their total criterion-referenced tests or testing programs. To be…

Second semester freshmen living in dormitories at York College (Pennsylvania) were administered the Organization Survey and Study Techniques Survey, and these results were compared with the students' overall grade-point averages (GPAs). The results indicated a clear positive correlation between study organization and GPA, and a significant…

The influence of social class on students' entrance to graduate and professional education was examined by analyzing data from a large longitudinal sample. Students who did not go on to further study tended to come from less affluent and less well educated families, while students who went to professional schools came from wealthier and better…

The purpose of this study was to determine if female graduate students in traditional programs could be distinguished from female graduate students in nontraditional programs on the basis of parental reinforcement, parental modeling, need achievement, and need affiliation. Paternal and maternal reinforcement scales, which assessed parental support…

A study undertaken in Arizona in 1975 was comprised of two parts, a pilot study and a comprehensive survey of high school students. It had as an overall objective to provide a data resource useful to all citizens and postsecondary institutions, to manpower and employment agencies, and to the state's high schools for program planning and…

Examined was the problem of the learning environment as it related to differential affective outcomes. Two specific questions were investigated. First, were there overall significant differences in the learning environments of classes who scored high (the top 25% strong attitudes towards chemistry) on the Student Opinion Survey in Chemistry?…

COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS WERE REPORTED FOR USE IN PROCESSING DATA ON TEACHER ROLES. INCLUDED IN THE OVERALL DATA-PROCESSING METHOD WERE--(1) A PROGRAM FOR TABULATING CONTINGENCY TABLES FROM DATA ON PUNCHED CARDS, (2) A PROGRAM FOR SELECTING AND COMBINING ROWS AND CALCULATING MANN-WHITNEY MEASURES OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES…

The financial, political, and faculty-administration attitudinal constraints in the state suggest that certain voucher demonstration projects would serve several purposes: (1) produce beneficial results for a segment of postsecondary students and institutions; (2) be structured to be acceptable to the educational community; and (3) provide the…