Search

A criterion-referenced measurement and diagnostic system for career education was developed using 79 of the 177 basic learner outcomes identified in Texas. Approximately 500 test items, referenced to the outcomes, were developed and submitted for student and professional review and statistical analyses following item tryouts and field testing of the instruments. A sample of schools was selected for each instrument at each of two levels, with 10 instruments at the lower level (grades 7 and 10) and 12 instruments at the upper level (Grades 8 and 11). In all, 506 classes were distributed among 130 campuses in 84 school districts. Various statistical procedures were used in item and instrument validation for item tryouts and field testing. Forty-four of the learner outcomes were tried out with students who had received instruction specifically designed to develop the behavior described by these outcomes. Data were obtained on 51 objectives measured by 215 items for the 44 learner outcomes. The test results were reported to give the student and school personnel diagnostic information about student performance on the outcomes by using the school curriculum--reference evaluation format. Over two-thirds of the document contains appended materials related to the processes involved in the study. (Author/EC)

In order to evaluate and obtain information about the usefulness of the Career Education Measurement System, a questionnaire was developed to survey school personnel perception and interpretation of the reporting system in Texas. The responses to the questionnaire were examined for 22 test instruments used in a pilot test to determine if the items were adequate measures of learner outcomes. An evaluation questionnaire was sent to 524 test administrators on 136 campuses which field tested the career education instruments. Approximately 29% returned useable evaluation forms. The respondents were asked to rank five types of reporting formats: outcome mastery, level of outcome mastery, areas of proficiency, item response, and school curriculum objective--referenced evaluation (SCORE). The SCORE format was most often preferred while the outcome mastery format was least often preferred. The respondents were asked for the following information: the usefulness of the interpretative guide ("Reading the Report") sent with the test results, the usefulness of the information contained in the test results, suggestions on who should receive copies of the test results, when the test results should be received, testing time available, and who should be test administrators. The evaluation form for the career education reporting system is appended. (Author/EC)

The document contains a descriptive outline of the various components of the Texas career education learning system. This includes: (1) a brief discussion on policy guidance; (2) an overview of career education from 1970-1975; (3) an outline of goals for public school education; (4) a 25-page document called "Basic Learner Outcomes for Career Education"; (5) an outline of the relationship of career education basic learner outcome categories and goals for public school education; (6) a discussion of a measurement and diagnostic system for career education; (7) a brief discussion of measurement instruments; (8) a sample test booklet which focuses on economic factors influencing career opportunity; (9) an outline of major processes involved in the development of a learning system for career education; (10) a matrix of learner outcomes; (11) sample matrices of specific learner outcomes; (12) a brief description of a catalog of learner activities; (13) a learning module format and instructions; and (14) four sample learning modules for Grades 3, 8, and 11. (EC)

The appendixes to the final evaluation report of Research for Better Schools' employer-based career education program contain: a listing of FY 1974 evaluation reports, an explanation of evaluation instruments and test procedures, the evaluation instruments (student demographic data questionnaire, student opinion survey, parent opinion survey, experience resource site demographic data questionnaire, cluster test of knowledge, assessment of student attitudes scale, career exploration student questionnaire, and employer questionnaire), and the procedural audit report. (JR)

To determine the effectiveness of a model driver education curriculum in leading to safe vehicle operation among beginning drivers, the Safe Peformance Curriculum, based on instructional objectives derived from analysis of the driver's tasks, was developed and pilot tested. Students were randomly assigned to one of the following: a Pre-Driver Licensing (PDL) course (instruction in the minimum requirements for a license), Safe Performance Curriculum (SPC), or a control group (no formal instruction). Intermediate criterion measures of performance, knowledge, skill, and attitude were administered to students in the first two groups. Program effects were measured in terms of curriculum (SPC versus PDL), sex and scholastic achievement level. Evaluation of knowledge and performance measures indicated a general trend toward higher scores by the SPC students, by students in the upper half of their class, and by male students. Recommendations are for further revision of the intermediate criterion measures and for a followup study. Appended material (158 pages) includes program test forms (with administration procedures and answers), SPC unit test results, basic skills range test analysis of variance source tables, and project staffing requirements. (Author/MS)

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission, in cooperation with the governing boards and institutions, surveyed 1973-74 graduates of public colleges and universities to (1) provide information on career tracks and post-college activity at various degree levels, and (2) develop instruments and information systems procedures for the acquisition and analysis of such data on a recurring basis. Responses were received from 4,154 graduates, better than 53 percent of the sample. Results of the study focus on characteristics of graduates, post-graduate activities, evaluation of educational experience, and open-ended questions such as what the graduates considered the most positive and worthwhile experience. This report contains answers to the survey questions and a statement of implications for decision-making for Tennessee higher education. (Author/LBH)

The purpose of this study is the substantiation of the use of selective cognitive and affective measures for effective identification of degree and level of academic disadvantagement of Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) students in New York State. This was accomplished by investigating the relationship between academic efficiency (e.g., selective cognitive and non-cognitive measures) and persistence (e.g., time spent in college); (b) establishing base rates of learner behaviors for each grade level for selected predictor and criterion measures; and, (c) investigating the relationship between academic efficiency and academic success criteria. The design of the study is based on two premises: that academic efficiency is related to persistence, and that it is also related to success. Predictors used are academic efficiency measures and biographic data, while criteria used are persistence measures and academic success measures. Major results and conclusions based are: (1) upper classmen perform more efficiently than lower classmen on the measures selected for inclusion in the study, leading to the acceptance that academic efficiency is related to persistence; (2) positive but weak relationships exist between individual academic efficiency measures; (3) relationships between persistence and sex, type of high school diploma, and ethnicity do not exist. (Author/AM)

This paper critically examines the portions of Arthur Jensen's books, "Genetics and Education" and "Educability and Group Differences," that concern Barbara Burks' 1928 study of adoptive families. Jensen cites the low correlations of children's IQs with measures of home environment from Burks' study as evidence that environment plays only a minor role in the determination of intelligence. The finding here is, however, that Burks' sample was highly selective, that her environmental measures were limited, and that Jensen has thoroughly misrepresented the content and implications of the Burks' study. (Author/AM)

The educational community lacks tools for assessing the nonacademic growth of students--their growth as persons and as social beings. This paper describes the development of an attitude inventory based on an interdisciplinary model of psychosocial maturity. The Psychosocial Maturity Inventory, a self-report instrument, is comprised of nine subscales and is suited for the assessment of youngsters in the approximate age range 11 to 18. Among the studies reviewed are ones which (1) specify at various age levels the internal consistency of the subscales; (2) report the association between the subscales and various measures of academic achievement; and (3) describe the relationship of the subscales to other measures of personality, such as "faking good," anxiety and self esteem. Factor analyses of the Inventory provide an empirical base for testing the proposed theoretical structure of psychosocial maturity. The Appendices provide additional detail on the psychometric properties of the Inventory. (Author)

This research examines the interaction between college students' control orientation and a discrepancy score of GPA minus expected grade in course, on the dependent measure of 13 student rating items. It was hypothesized that students with an external locus of control who also showed a discrepancy between expected and actual grades would distort ratings in the direction of the discrepancy. Regressions were performed on data from 200 Ss. In four regressions, the interaction term was significant; thus the hypothesis was partially supported. As these four items had been shown to be particularly important, the influence of locus of control is interpreted as a reduction in validity of student rating instruments. (Author)

This paper discusses early identification of children with developmental handicaps, a subject highlighted recently through the creation of federal and state sponsored Early Periodic Screening Programs (EPSDT). The Minnesota Child Development Inventory (MCDI) provides a systematic means of obtaining parental (usually maternal) information about the child's current development. The presentation discusses the validity of the MCDI and the development of other inventories focused on the assessment of school readiness (Minnesota Preschool Inventory--MPI) and the assessment of infant development (Minnesota Infant Development Inventory--MIDI). The MIDI attempts to integrate developmental and educational concepts and to provide guidance to the mother regarding the development and stimulation of her infant. (Author)

This report, part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) survey, describes one facet of the national assessment of writing. The students--9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds who constitute the sample for the NAEP studies--were told to use their best writing but were not told that their papers would be examined for mechanical correctness. The data on mechanical correctness obtained from an examination of these papers during the 1974 survey are compared with the data obtained from the 1970 assessment. Richard Lloyd-Jones of the University of Iowa (Iowa City) and Ross Winterowd of the University of Southern California (Los Angeles) offered the following observations about the writing assessment results: there is no evidence that the schools must "go back to basics" because the basics seem well in hand; language is always changing, but new ways of writing may not be worse in any defensible sense; writing is inextricably tied to reading; "Edited Standard English" as taught in most schools is one dialect of English; there are fewer rewards for being a good writer; and increasing class size results in fewer writing assignments. (RB) Primary type of information provided by report: Results (Change) (Selective).

In order to utilize interesting children's trade books in a systematic reading program, two readability formulas were devised based on a selection of children's trade books. Children's scores on selections from these books and judges' rankings were compared. The judges' decisions were considered to be highly credible and were used as the criterion measure. Correlations are reported between 23 textual variables and the criterion. Two readability formulas based on these variables are discussed: one based on a regression analysis that included publisher and linguistic variables (Formula P) and one that included only the linguistic variables (Formula L). Formula P uses words per page and impersonal pronouns plus third person personal pronouns per sentence in the regression equation and correlates .819 with the judges' summed rankings on 50 books. Formula L uses words over seven letters long per sentence and impersonal pronouns plus third person personal pronouns per sentence in the regression equation and correlates .718 with reading difficulty as determined by judges' rankings on 50 books. The books used are listed by title and author, and the judges summed rankings and the regression formulae rankings are given. Grade level scores were not considered appropriate to be assigned. (MKM)

This paper defines affective development as, "the growth of an individual's attitudes toward self, others, and institutions." The intent of this paper is to provide educators with the information necessary to use existing measures of affective development in the evaluation of their educational programs. This information includes: (1) a listing of recently designed measures of affective development; (2) a system for classifying these instruments; and (3) a method for evaluating the usefulness and appropriateness of these tests. With these resources, educators can have a systematic method for identifying, evaluating, and selecting measures of affective development. This methodology can be helpful in the process of deciding which instrument is best suited for use with a particular program. (Author)

This study deals with the following topics: (1) the extent to which three different learning environment instruments and their underlying conceptual framework are empirically related, and (2) the extent to which intensive observation of classrooms aids in the interpretation of instruments' characterizations of a class. In the first part of the study, three instruments measuring student perceptions of psychological aspects of classroom learning environments were administered to 233 high school students in 11 classes. The three instruments were the Learning Environment Inventory, the Class Activities Questionnaire, and the Authenticity, Legitimacy, and Productivity (ALP) Ethos Instrument. The instrument data were analyzed using the individual as the unit of analysis. The second part of the study involved nonparticipant observatinon of one of the original 11 classrooms. The results provided a baseline of data for the possible synthesis of studies, making use of each instrument separatel y (1) to raise more detailed hypotheses of learning environments, (2) to explicate methodological issues, and (3) for the constructive consideratinon of "unintended" effects of curriculum. (The learning environment instruments and data from the study are included in appendixes.) (Author/RC)

This technical paper examines how different poverty standards can change the statistical description of the low income population. It supplements a chapter in a report submitted to the U.S. Congress in 1976 titled, "The Measure of Poverty". The poverty measure currently used in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (the Census Bureau definition of poverty) and alternative poverty definitions which were selected for analysis by the Poverty Studies Task Force are described in this paper. The characteristics of the poverty population in 1974 under the current federal definition and under the various alternative poverty defintions are presented based on data from the March 1975 Current Population Survey. In addition, changes over time in the size and composition of poverty populations such as the elderly, female headed families, school aged children, and blacks under the alternative measures are analyzed. A discussion of the impact of the alternative definitions on the geographic distribution of the poor based on the One Percent Sample of the 1970 Census of Population is also included. The effect of the alternative poverty definitions on the number and characteristics of the poor varies the most with two basic changes in the poverty definition: first, large increments in the level of thresholds, and second, elimination of the variations by family size. The subgroups that deviated most from the general pattern noted for the total population of declining poverty rates under the fixed measures and fairly constant poverty rates under the relative measures between 1967 and 1974 were the elderly and persons in families with a female head. (Author/AM)

This study is a two-part analysis aimed at determining what differences occur in the incidence of poverty when different definitions of income are employed and when the time frame of analysis is changed. The first part of the analysis concentrates on school-aged children, while the second part studies families. The study is based on data from the Survey Research Center's Panel Study of Income Dynamics, for the years 1968-1972. For the analyses of school-aged children, all children in the panel between the ages of 5 and 18 in the spring of 1972 were counted, resulting in a sample of 5,834 children. For the family analysis those families in 1972 which included a male head from 1968, a female head from 1968, or the wife of a male head in 1968 were counted, resulting in a sample size of 4,010 families. In general, adjustments to annual family money income to account for certain costs of receiving income, and for certain non-money components of income, result in little change in the rank ordering in economic status of familes and children. The results also show that the incidence of poverty is higher for children than for families, by all measures. Although adjustments to annual money income can change a family's economic position, especially in moving it out of the poverty classification, the time period covered appears to be a more influential factor. A crude assessment of the effects of changing the measure of poverty on the relative number counted as poor in different sub-national areas was attempted. The results are inconclusive. Various policy implications stemming from the results of this study are given. (Author/AM)

This paper reports the results of an evaluative statistical analysis of the instrument employed for student evaluation of faculty at Oakton Community College (Illinois). The analysis was performed because the locally devised instrument had never been subjected to systematic study of reliability or validity, and because a review of pertinent literature indicated a lack of consensus on what types of variables affect students' evaluations of faculty. Results suggested that the instrument failed to discriminate clearly between positive and negative aspects of course organization, faculty performance, classroom ambience, and other evaluation variables; that the positive wording used in constructing the instrument was such that faulty data might result from inculcation of a response set; and that equal weighting was given to each item on the evaluation form, even though each item was not necessarily applicable to each instructor or class. It was recommended that Oakton define and clarify the purposes of faculty evaluation, review existing instruments in use at other institutions, select or design an instrument meeting the purposes, and pretest the chosen instrument for reliability and validity before implementation. A review of the literature, tabular data from the instrument analysis, a bibliography, and the evaluation instrument are included. (JDS)

Two postsecondary institutions in Michigan, Macomb County Community College and Michigan State University, participated in a two-year program that attempted to implement and evaluate a set of procedures developed for measuring and mapping each student's educational cognitive style and using the resulting maps to individualize educational programs to accommodate students' styles. Based on a program developed by Joseph E. Hill of Oakland Community College in Michigan, the project specified four objectives: (1) to develop and test procedures for the measurement of the 32 dimensions of Hill's model of educational cognitive style; (2) to train faculty and staff of the participating institutions to understand the model; (3) to assist these trained faculty members in developing and carrying out plans for implementing cognitive style mapping procedures in making educational decisions in their individual courses; and (4) to plan and carry out systematic evaluations of the effect of the mapping procedures and data on educational outcomes in each setting. The project results did not establish the existence of significant relationships between the use of cognitive style measures and data on educational outcomes. Study results are presented in numerous tables and an appendix contains the reports of the evaluation advisory panel. (JMD)

This report discusses the measurement of behavioral and attitudinal aspects of young children's socioemotional development and briefly describes a variety of instruments designed to measure such development. Information given for each instrument includes: author, source, variables examined, type of measure, age of children test is designed for, and brief comments about the test. Three major types of interactions (peer, adult and task) are discussed in relation to three levels of contextual variables (geographic and ethnic, situational antecedents, and person with whom interaction occurs). Observational instruments used to assess the development of specified behaviors and attitudes vary with each of the selected dimensions. Among the attitudes examined in the measures described are self concept and school related attitudes. Parental role expectations, peer interaction behavior, classroom behavior and child task interaction are also discussed. In addition, other measures of socioemotional development and the child's social role perception and integration are outlined. Appendices include information on developmental screening tests and observational measures. (CM)

The procedures by which students at John Wood Community College (JWCC) can demonstrate communication abilities and receive credit for Introduction to Speech are detailed. The student desiring credit for the course, initiates the procedure by discussing it with a JWCC staff member who may refer the student to the Dean of Academic Affairs or the speech instructor if convinced that the student has a good chance of passing the exam. The speech instructor provides the student with a list of seven steps to follow to pass the proficiency exam which include: completing the 34-item McCroskey Personal Report of Public Speaking Apprehension and the revised 30-item Knower Speech Experience Inventory which assess public speaking anxiety and extent of experience; attending an advisement interview with the instructor to discuss the test results and determine whether the proficiency exam is in the student's best interest; obtaining a list of criteria for an effective informative speech; taking the exam which includes preparing a 5-6 minute speech selected by the instructor from provided materials and delivering the speech to a three-member panel; receiving a written evaluation; completing the necessary registration forms; and paying a required fee. Students receive credit for grades of C or better. The list of proficiency exam criteria according to speech content, organization, and delivery is appended. (TR)

Since 1974 the Appalachian Education Satellite Program, which is described in this report, has delivered graduate level teacher training courses in diagnostic and prescriptive reading and in career education to elementary and secondary teachers in remote areas of Appalachia. Evaluation of the courses has focused on determining how they affected participants' learning and attitudes, the effectiveness of the learning activities and methods of presentation, the reliability of the equipment, the overall course evaluations, and the way the results compare with the results of previous deliveries of the course. This report presents the results of the 1977 deliveries of the two types of courses to elementary teachers. For each course, it provides a course overview and lists topics and objectives for the individual programs in the course, discusses procedures and instruments used in the course evalaution, and presents the evaluation results. The report includes numerous tables and provides samples of such materials as attitude and background questionnaires, instructional activities rating forms, and equipment report and student satisfaction forms completed by teachers. (GW)

To investigate the feasibility of developing hands-on instruments to aid classroom teachers in assessing both entering and exiting skills of the special needs students in vocational education, a continuing project at the University of Pittsburgh was conducted to meet two major objectives: develop a definitive rationale for the design of a hands-on instrument by which the vocational classroom teacher could diagnose entry skills and measure exit skills of special education students and design a hands-on instrument based on the above rationale for several occupational areas. The project resulted in the following outcomes: the development of a rationale and procedures for the design of the instruments, an entering instrument to diagnose auto mechanics skills, and an exiting instrument to assess competence in food services skills. A large appendix accompanies this final report and includes the following materials: an example of synthesis procedures (auto mechanics); the auto mechanics synthesis; the food services synthesis; the auto mechanics entering skills instrument; the food services exiting skills instrument; and the rationale paper supporting the hands-on instrument project. (Author/BM)

This document reviews 14 instruments for measuring attitudes and values in environmental education. Comments are made on the strengths and weaknesses of the instruments and the restricted nature of their content. Lists of additional sources and references cited are also included. (SL)

Six Indian Health Service (IHS) units, chosen in a non-random manner, were evaluated via a quality assessment methodology currently under development by the IHS Office of Research and Development. A set of seven health problems (tracers) was selected to represent major health problems, and clinical algorithms (process maps) were constructed for each health problem; criteria were then defined and translated into audit questions (population, provider, and health status indicators). The seven tracer conditions were analyzed in terms of care: provided by the system; received by the beneficiaries; and continuity. Results indicated four major methodological issues should be of concern in future quality assessment techniques re: ambulatory care: (1) examination of provider performance alone does not necessarily reflect the adequacy of care received; (2) diagnostic and treatment processes should not be examined alone but rather in conjunction with care continuity; (3) additional developmental work is needed to clarify a concept of health outcome applicable to quality assessment techniques for ambulatory care; and (4) methodology based on the tracer approach assumes that information derived from examination of a tracer disease is similar to that obtained from other similar conditions and that adaptive processes directed at improving deficiencies in health care for a tracer will result in improvements in other similar conditions. (JC)

Describing the methodology by which the quality of ambulatory health care in the Indian Health Service (IHS) might be measured, this report presents a brief review of the literature; discusses design decisions basic to the methodology; presents a pilot study; and presents examples of process maps, indicators and adult criteria, and data collection instruments. The design decisions are identified as follows: the object of attention is ambulatory care (because it: is the primary IHS mode; is appropriate for the study of patient education, primary education, screening, early diagnosis, treatment, and follow up; and is a fertile area for quality appraisal research); the dimension of quality measured is effectiveness; the content of the evaluation includes measures of process and outcome for a group of representative health problems; the yardsticks employed to measure quality are explicit patient care criteria; the perspectives from which measurements are taken are both patient and provider-based; the methods of data analysis include aggregation of individual results and isolation of exceptional results. The methodological procedures are identified as follows: select a group of health problems representative of the major health problems in the community; develop process maps; list problem-specific criteria and translate into indicators; define criteria for each indicator; identify material to be audited; define the length of study period; and employ instruments (graphic algorithms and data collection forms for those tracers for which provider-based indicators are used). (JC)

A study has been made at the National Bureau of Standards of the different techniques that are or could be used for testing solar collectors and thermal storage devices that are used in solar heating and cooling systems. This report reviews the various testing methods and outlines a recommended test procedure, including apparatus and instrumentation, for both components. The recommended procedures have been written in the format of a standard of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and have been submitted to that organization for consideration. (Author)

The paper presents results of a study to assess to what extent visiting a museum is an adult learning experience. Study population was 112 adult visitors to the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus during December 1976 and January and February 1977. Visitor behavior was observed and recorded and the visitors were then interviewed for their comments about what they had seen. Visitor comments indicative of learning from the exhibits were scored on a scale of evidence of six cognitive and five affective learning behaviors. Collected data were tabulated as mean scores for the 11 behaviors and anecdotal data presented in narrative form under each behavior. A demographic profile of the 112 visitors is included. The study supported the contention that some learning occurs during a museum visit in a setting of leisure and recreation. (MF)

This study investigated the relation of self-concept to moral judgment in young children. Forty kindergarten children between the ages of 5 years, 1 month and 6 years, 6 months with I.Q.s ranging from 82 to 144 were each administered a self-concept appraisal and The Moral Judgment Test. Product moment correlations evaluated the relationship. A multiple regression analysis evaluated the significance of the relative predictive power of self-concept for moral judgment. This initial investigation revealed a nonsignificant relationship between global self-concept and total moral judgment scores. When the self-concept and moral judgment scores and their respective factors were collapsed, however, all three of the factors of moral judgment correlated significantly with at least one self-concept factor. (Author/MS)