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Exploring The Efficacy Of Pre-Equating A Large Scale Criterion-Referenced Assessment With Respect To Measurement Equivalence, Christopher Stephen Domaleski Sep 2006

Exploring The Efficacy Of Pre-Equating A Large Scale Criterion-Referenced Assessment With Respect To Measurement Equivalence, Christopher Stephen Domaleski

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This investigation examined the practice of relying on field test item calibrations in advance of the operational administration of a large scale assessment for purposes of equating and scaling. Often termed “pre-equating,” the effectiveness of this method is explored for a statewide, high-stakes assessment in grades three, five, and seven for the content areas of language arts, mathematics, and social studies. Pre-equated scaling was based on item calibrations using the Rasch model from an off-grade field test event in which students tested were one grade higher than the target population. These calibrations were compared to those obtained from post-equating, which …


Risk And The School-To-Work Transition In East Germany And The United States., Antje Barabasch Sep 2006

Risk And The School-To-Work Transition In East Germany And The United States., Antje Barabasch

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This study investigates how young adults in vocational education perceive risk in regard to their professional futures in East Germany and the United States. It analyzes students’ career aspirations and life plans in both countries and how they cope with uncertainties at the labor market. It further outlines underlying values, beliefs, and attitudes that guide young Americans and East Germans in their planning. Several theoretical frameworks ground this study and comprise the majority of the relevant literature. This cross-cultural comparative case study takes a mixed method approach using a concurrent triangulation design. The inquiry is framed by theories in the …


Swimming Upstream: A Study Of Black Males And The Academic Pipeline, Rhonda Dayle Wilkins Sep 2006

Swimming Upstream: A Study Of Black Males And The Academic Pipeline, Rhonda Dayle Wilkins

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT SWIMMING UPSTREAM: A STUDY OF BLACK MALES AND THE ACADEMIC PIPELINE Rhonda D. Wilkins Post secondary participation and graduation rates of Black males are declining rapidly. Black women, however, are realizing substantial growth in both of these areas and account for the majority of the increase in Black student college enrollment. This qualitative case study addresses the decline in Black male participation in higher education by focusing on six Black men who completed college programs and the academic pipeline that brought them to their degree. The purpose of the research inquiry was to determine various factors that either helped …


Cultural Identity, Voice, And Agency In Post-Secondary Graphic Design Education: A Collective Case Study, Larry Michael Stultz Sep 2006

Cultural Identity, Voice, And Agency In Post-Secondary Graphic Design Education: A Collective Case Study, Larry Michael Stultz

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT CULTURAL IDENTITY, VOICE, AND AGENCY IN POST-SECONDARY GRAPHIC DESIGN EDUCATION: A COLLECTIVE CASE STUDY by Larry M. Stultz This study investigates areas of conflict between students’ cultural identities and the educational environment established and maintained by their faculty and school. It analyzes the usefulness and value of personal creative expression in the classroom and how treatment of cultural identity and performance influences student persistence and success. Four theoretical frameworks ground this study and comprise the majority of the relevant literature. The inquiry is framed by theories in curriculum, performance, cultural difference, and symbolic interaction. Three purposely selected students participated …


Benefits Or Harms Of No Child Left Behind, Judy Block Sep 2006

Benefits Or Harms Of No Child Left Behind, Judy Block

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT BENEFITS OR HARMS OF NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND by Judy Block The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 reauthorizes and extensively amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and establishes control over the majority of federal programs and spending that affect public education. Embedded in the Act are various requirements that states and schools must adhere to as a condition of receiving federal education funds as well as harsh sanctions for failing to meet the requirements. No Child Left Behind notably shifts federal education policy by expanding its role into the areas of standards and assessment, …


Are Public Schools Worth Saving? If So, By Whom?, Philip Edward Kovacs Sep 2006

Are Public Schools Worth Saving? If So, By Whom?, Philip Edward Kovacs

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT ARE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WORTH SAVING? IF SO, BY WHOM? by Philip Kovacs While there is a loose coalition of individuals and organizations attacking the institution of public schools, there does not appear to be a coordinated defense of public schools. Without a coordinated defense of the institution, public schools will arguably 1) grow increasingly regulated and/or 2) be shut down altogether. Given that progressive scholars believe schools should exist to maintain a pluralistic and participatory democracy, should 1) or 2) continue, the progressive goal of democracy through education becomes increasingly removed from possibility. The failure of progressive educational reformers …


Two Essays On Corporate Income Taxes And Organizational Forms In The United States, Zhenhua Hu Sep 2006

Two Essays On Corporate Income Taxes And Organizational Forms In The United States, Zhenhua Hu

Public Management and Policy Dissertations

Corporate income taxation has a profound impact on economic behavior in the United States. This dissertation focuses on two aspects: the impact of dividend taxation on investment and the impact of corporate income tax exemption on nonprofit organizations activity. The first essay compares dividend payout ratios of C and S corporations to test the validity of the traditional and the new views on dividend taxation. Average corporate income tax rate is used as an instrumental variable. The results support the traditional view. The second essay focuses on whether the exemption of nonprofit organizations from the corporate income tax affects the …


The Effect Of Linkages On Science And Technology At Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Kathryn T. Brice Sep 2006

The Effect Of Linkages On Science And Technology At Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Kathryn T. Brice

Public Management and Policy Dissertations

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) face the 21st century with questions about change and adaptation to an increasingly science and technology oriented society. They face the challenge of finding a strategy by which they can utilize current resources and energy to maximize their science and technology development. Using a mixed methods research design, this study conducted an analysis of science and technology at HBCUs. The primary objective was to determine what theories (when implemented they are termed strategies) account for the development of science and technology at successful research oriented HBCUs. This was accomplished through a secondary objective – …


The Effect Of Proximity To Commercial Uses On Residential Prices, John William Matthews Sep 2006

The Effect Of Proximity To Commercial Uses On Residential Prices, John William Matthews

Public Management and Policy Dissertations

As distance from a house to retail sites decreases the price of a house should increase, ceteris paribus, because of increased shopping convenience. On the other hand, as distance decreases price should also decrease because the house is exposed to increased spillover of disamenities – noise, light, traffic, etc. – from the retail use. The study uses Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal data and a parcel level Geographic Information system map from King County (Seattle) Washington. An hedonic process is used to estimate the price effects of both the expected positive and negative price effects. Travel distance is a proxy for …


Toward An Understanding Of The Revenue Of Nonprofit Organizations, Christopher Scott Horne Sep 2006

Toward An Understanding Of The Revenue Of Nonprofit Organizations, Christopher Scott Horne

Public Management and Policy Dissertations

Understanding the composition and distribution of the revenue of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) is key to understanding NPOs themselves. This research uses revenue data for 87,127 charitable NPOs to draw three main conclusions. First, revenue structures of NPOs vary widely by subsector and organizational size, with many NPOs demonstrating revenue structures that might be considered uncharacteristic of the nonprofit sector. Second, despite the concerns of many nonprofit scholars, heavy dependence on either government funding or charitable contributions is atypical of NPOs. And third, nonprofit revenue is highly concentrated in relatively few NPOs. The description of revenue expands to examine the relationship …