A project was conducted to (1) produce normative data for the Literacy Assessment Battery (LAB) and (2) evaluate the LAB as a potential supplement to the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) for use as a selection and classification instrument for the military services. The distribution of auding and reading skills in the population…

The report traces the activities which led to the development of the adjusted weights--beginning with the basic National Longitudinal Study design, the base-year weight calculations, and the resurvey procedures. Next, the report describes the first follow-up weight calculations (including unadjusted student weights), nonresponse adjustment…

Texas Instruments has undertaken a research program with the goal of producing scientifically-based evidence of the effectiveness of graphing calculators and the "TI-Navigator"[TM] classroom networking system in the context of a professional development and curriculum framework. The program includes a two-year longitudinal study. The…

Recruiting schools and kids to participate in drug prevention evaluations is no longer, if it ever was, a "done deal." Since the mid-1980s, schools have been inundated with requirements for drug programs and requests to cooperate with program evaluations. As a consequence, both treatment and control schools are harder to find. In addition, many…

Scientific research that is conducted without the structure of a supporting scientific paradigm should be labeled pseudoscience in that such research is deceptive or false science. It is argued that much of the research in educational technology is pseudoscience, with the focus on learner control research. Learner control is the design feature of…

A group of high school self-reported dropouts and a group of simulated high school dropouts were compared with graduates in their participation rates, efforts required for data collection, and the overall quality of their responses in the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. The results indicate that dropouts are less…

As in any very large survey, the sample that provided data for the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) differed from the random sample of the study design because of nonresponse from 226 of the 1,200 schools in the primary sample, and a small amount of other missing data. Part A of this report, briefly describes the…

A search, primarily by telephone, in 1974 successfully located 97.4 percent of a sample of 10,317 subjects who had graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957. This high response rate was obtained partly because the original study incorporated several diverse types of identifying items which could lead to the future location of the respondents;…

In this study, the enrollment distribution of students attending New York City Community Colleges is examined and evaluated. The introductory section presents briefly the national enrollment picture for two-year and four-year colleges, enumerates the various projections that have been developed by federal and state agencies, and evaluates the…

The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) serves as an example of how three specific problems of representativeness in a longitudinal study may be approached and overcome. NELS:88 was designed to provide longitudinal data about the educational transitions experienced by students as they leave eighth grade and move through high…

This study examined research from 1980 to 1992 that addressed characteristics of high school dropouts. Data from 32 empirical studies were synthesized into an integrative review. A list of the most common characteristics of high school dropouts was generated and the major policy issues related to dropping out were identified and addressed. Four…

Retention attrition in a special elementary teacher preparation program at the University of British Columbia was studied over a 9-year span with 130 American Indian freshmen. Background variables such as age, gender, marital status/parenthood, ethnic status, entrance year, and locality did not differentiate graduates from non-graduates except…

The Goodrich Scholarship Program for low-income students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, its impact on students, and its strengths and weaknesses, are evaluated. Of the 350 students who have enrolled since 1972 under the Goodrich Program, 194 are currently enrolled, 28 have graduated, and the remainder have withdrawn at one stage or…

Results are reported from a survey of a random sample of college-bound high school seniors, 1974-75, who took the Scholastic Aptitude Test in the 12 states that comprise the College Board's Western Region. The 935 respondents are grouped for analytic purposes according to their college enrollment history. The four categories of respondents are…

Options are suggested for using and expanding upon the RMC models for evaluating the effectiveness of Title I mastery learning programs with planned high turnover of students. Examples are given of uses of the diagnostic and reporting systems for program planning and decision making. It is suggested that consideration be given to: (1) determining…