Anderson, Spiro, and Anderson (EJ 189 658) assert that the author's assimilation theory of meaningful learning and retention is "hopelessly vague." Documented examination of these assertions indicates that they are unspecified, unsubstantiated, undocumented, and based on indisputable misrepresentation of published material and on logical non…

Meta-analytic methods were used to synthesize research on the relationship between student ratings of instruction and student achievement. Results provide strong support for the validity of student ratings as measures of teaching effectiveness. (Author/GK)

Research published since 1974 regarding women in administration, management, and leadership is reviewed. Research on minority women in school administration is also examined, as are changes directed at improving women's access to leadership positions. (Author/GK)

The question of whether skills in achieving understanding and retention of information at high levels of abstraction can be taught is addressed by analyzing some of the mental processes involved, and briefly reviewing a number of attempts that have been made to induce these processes. (Author)

Using criterion-referenced test item data collected in an empirical study, differences in item selection between Cox and Vargas' pretest-posttest validity index and a latent trait approach (evaluation of the item information function for the mastery score) are analyzed. (Author/GK)

It is determined what conclusions might be drawn from studies on improving college teaching, both for researchers and those who design and implement instructional improvement programs. Findings for interventions are summarized by confidence rating, showing the relative attention given to topics and the quality of research from topic to topic.…

This review of Bloom's taxonomy complements and supplements an earlier review which concentrated on its statistical properties. It reviews unpublished studies and published literature over a 25-year period. The focus is on the claimed properties of neutrality, comprehensiveness, cumulative hierarchical structure, and usefulness. (Author/DWH)

Based on research done in the past decade, the authors formulated a "schema" of teachers' judgments, planning and interactive decisions. Recommendations for future research included development of a taxonomy of critical teaching decisions, intervention, and alteration of teachers' plans and decisions to improve teaching, and implementation of…

The author contends Glass, Peckham, and Sanders erred in discouraging the use of nonparametric counterparts of the t-test, even when it was known data were sampled from skewed distributions. He believes Wilcoxon's rank-sum test has power properties that make it preferable in most nonnormal population situations. (Author/DWH)

Cognitive and noncognitive outputs are surveyed, as well as the effects of inputs on outputs. Groups of student inputs include background characteristics, school-related characteristics, and attitudes. School inputs include conditions and instructional personnel. The literature is surveyed by population samples, data aggregation, and statistical…

Path analysis was used to test the T into model of college dropouts using a sample drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Findings support the notion that commitment to the goal of college completion has the strongest effect on persistence. (Author/GK)

The issue of grade inflation is clarified by examining the database of the College Board's Validity Study Service. Also examined is the effect of grade inflation on the validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test across a 15-year period. (Author/GK)

The consequences of using alternative measures of time and achievement are examined in an observational study of 18 elementary school classes. The extent to which choice of the same model linking time and learning for all students was implicated in the inconsistent results is examined. (Author/GK)

Simple modifications of principal component methods are described that have distinct advantages for structural analysis of relations among educational and psychological variables. The methods are contrasted theoretically and empirically with conventional principal component methods and with maximum likelihood factor analysis. (Author/GK)

Whether the race of elementary school teachers in black schools was associated with teachers' expectations for student achievement and perceptions of effort was investigated. Evidence suggested that teacher race was associated only with expectations for college success. (Author/GK)