A population data set was randomly generated from which a random sample was drawn. This sample was randomly divided into two data sets, one of which was used to generate parameter estimates, which were then used in the second data set for cross-validation purposes. The best variable subset models were compared between the two data sets on the…

The National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS), sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, are a set of surveys each of which has gathered information at multiple points in time on the labor market experiences of five groups of men and women since the mid-1960s. Each group of at least 5,000 persons was selected to be…

Working from a common data base and hypothesized model, this paper demonstrates and compares the EQS and LISREL computer program strategies in the analysis of a second-order factor model. Program similarities and differences are noted with respect to: (1) preliminary analyses of the data; (2) treatment of data that are not multivariately normal;…

In January of 1987, a planning conference was convened by the Center for Education Statistics as part of an effort to study the feasibility of various approaches to the nationwide assessment of children's readiness for instruction in kindergarten and first grade. This report provides, in an appendix, the texts of the four commissioned papers…

This report offers a review of the Chicago Public Schools' official policy on promotion and retention, a discussion of research on the issue of retention, and an analysis of June, 1989 retention rates in Chicago. The first section covers retention and promotion policies in Chicago and other cities and research on the effects of retention and…

Focused on the development of definitions and guidelines for management statistics, this Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit is based on the responses of 91 academic members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to a survey investigating their internal uses of statistics, external statistics reporting, and tools for…

Monte Carlo methods were employed to assess the relative power of the paired samples t test and Wilcoxon's signed-ranks test under ten population shapes. Results of the study indicated that: (1) each of the two statistics was more powerful than the other in given situations; (2) the power advantages of the t test under normal theory were small;…

Over 300 resources on methods in cultural anthropology are listed under the following headings: archaeological methods; visual methods, tape recordings, and technical aids; cognitive anthropology and emic methods; community studies and complex societies; cross-cultural and hologeistic methods; ethnohistory; field work techniques and participant…

The progress of modern mental test theory depends very much on the techniques of maximum likelihood estimation, and many popular applications make use of likelihoods induced by logistic item response models. While, in reality, item responses are nonreplicate within a single examinee and the logistic models are only ideal, practitioners make…

To assess the effects of correlated abilities on test characteristics, and to explore the effects of correlated abilities on the use of a multidimensional item response theory model which does not explicitly account for such a correlation, two tests were constructed. One had two relatively unidimensional subsets of items, the other had all…

This booklet outlines a framework for defining and measuring equity in state school finance and tax structures. The framework focuses on two groups: children, who receive educational services, and taxpayers, who pay for those services. Discussed are the different measures of equity for children and taxpayers, the values inherent in those measures,…

Performance differences and differences in expectancies of success between men and women were examined relative to the replication of preselected and constrained movements. No performance differences were found between the sexes, but preselected movements were reproduced more accurately than constrained movements. Persons who made preselected…

Using data extracted from the Migrant Student Record Transfer System, a study was undertaken to (1) define the flow of migrant children to and from the state month by month, (2) determine the principal movement patterns, and (3) examine intrastate movement and its patterns. For trend analysis, data were compared for the calendar years of 1975,…

The five counties of Madera, Merced, Contra Costa, San Joaquin and Stanislaus constitute Region 3 of the California Migrant Education Program. A study to evaluate movement patterns of migrant students from, to and within the state was conducted using data from the Migrant Student Record Transfer System. It indicates that in 1977 Region 3 ranked…

Kern County in the south central part of the state makes up Region 5 of the California Migrant Education Program. Using the Migrant Student Record Transfer System as a data base, a study was conducted to examine the flow patterns of migrant students from, to and within each region and the state in 1977. Intrastate students dominated the California…