Describes an activity presented in sports fishing magazines on developing a formula that predicts the weight in pounds of a game fish given its length in inches by using a TI-83 graphing calculator. Highlights the importance of using real-life problems and mathematical explorations. (ASK)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) farm real estate value index is currently constructed with a modified Laspeyres weighted average formula, with the acreage weights changed approximately every 10 years. An analysis of acreage weights from 1974, 1978, and 1982 census data revealed, however, that substantial changes in real estate values…

Methods for indirect comparisons and network meta-analysis use aggregate level data from multiple studies. A very common, and closely related, scenario is where a company has individual patient data (IPD) from its own trial, but only has published aggregate data from a competitor's trial, and an indirect comparison of the treatments evaluated in…

A well-known conclusion from elementary ballistic trajectory analysis is that the horizontal range of a projectile is maximized for a launch angle of 45°. The derivation of this result assumes that the launch speed is the same for all possible launch angles, but this neglects the fact that the work done against gravity by the launching mechanism…

Describes computer-aided lessons for determining chemical formulas from composition by weight, quantities from chemical equations, and balancing equations for oxidation-reduction reactions. Lessons were developed and used on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois. A brief analysis of student attitudes and of effectiveness of the programs…

This paper designs a new equalization-aid formula based on fiscal gaps of local communities. When states are in transition to a new local aid formula, the issue of whether and how to hold existing aid harmless poses a challenge. The authors show that some previous studies and the formulas derived from them give differential weights to existing and…

The coronavirus pandemic has emptied campuses and left many students facing an uncertain educational future. Particularly vulnerable are Black and Latinx students, who are significantly more likely than whites to report that they have canceled or changed their education plans during the pandemic. The $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief &…

Massachusetts has one of the highest performing yet slowest growing charter school sectors in the nation. Since the Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) included enabling legislation for charter schools in 1993, the Commonwealth has capped the number of charters that can operate, both statewide and in individual districts. The legislature has…

Improving equity of education funding is a key to addressing social injustices in education. Weighted student funding systems are a relatively novel approach a number of large urban and suburban districts have used to try to improve the equity of school funding. In a weighted student funding (WSF) system, the dollars distributed to schools are…

Performance-based funding (PBF) policies that closely link higher education funding to performance metrics are common in the United States. Similar to other performance management systems, evidence suggests PBF policies have unintended impacts, such as cream-skimming. More specifically, evidence shows the fiscal incentives of PBF encourage…

We derive formulas for the differential item functioning (DIF) measures that two routinely used DIF statistics are designed to estimate. The DIF measures that match on observed scores are compared to DIF measures based on an unobserved ability (theta or true score) for items that are described by either the one-parameter logistic (1PL) or…

Describes a simple method to determine potential chemical formulas for a given molecular weight and to calculate all of the typical mass spectrometric parameters which can be obtained experimentally. Calculated values can then be compared to experimental values to obtain the most reasonable formula. (JN)

BodyMetrix BX2000 A-mode ultrasound software offers nine options for estimating body fat percentage (%BF) from fat thickness measurements. These formulas were evaluated against %BF estimated from air displacement plethysmography in a sample of 42 men. Compared to the Bod Pod, three of the nine equations -- Jackson and Pollock 3 site (JP3), Jackson…

Two independent studies conducted by Baker, Sciarra, and Farrie (2015) and Augenblick, Palaich and Associates (2015) reveal Alabama's public school funding mechanism to be regressive and inequitable. The recommendation from both of these studies is to develop a funding formula including per pupil-based allocation and supplemental categorical…

Performed an empirical Monte Carlo study using predictor and criterion data from 84,808 U.S. Air Force enlistees. Compared formula-based, traditional empirical, and equal-weights procedures. Discusses issues for basic research on validation and cross-validation. (SLD)