The National Office for Research, Measurement and Evaluation Systems

Current Research

The NORMES offices are continuously involved in research endeavors leading to improved academic and health initiatives throughout the nation. While each division of NORMES focuses on specialized initiatives, all divisions collaborate to draw on the collective expertise and strengths of the NORMES faculty, staff and graduate students.

AERA 2006

The NORMES offices are actively involved in the dissemination of quality research. One method of dissemination is the American Educational Research Association Conference. The 2006 annual conference was held in San Francisco, 07-10 April. The following proposals were submitted and accepted by the NORMES faculty, research associates, and graduate assistants:

Denise T. Airola and Charles Stegman, Ph D

From Placement to Proficiency: Finding a Balance in Appropriate Assessment and Accountability for English Language Learners

Sarah C. McKenzie, Nick T. Ogle, Charles E. Stegman & Sean W. Mulvenon

Does School Configuration Impact School Performance on AYP Assessments?

Sarah C. McKenzie, Sean W. Mulvenon & Charles E. Stegman

On Track - An Examination of the Patterns and Policy Implications: Associated with Matching Student Data

AERA 2005

The 2005 annual conference was held in Montreal, Quebec, 11-15 April. The following proposals were submitted and accepted by the NORMES faculty, research associates, and graduate assistants:

Sean W. Mulvenon Ph.D., Charles Stegman, Ph.D.,and Sarah McKenzie, MS

Measurement Anomalies Associated with NCLB: Why the Math Doesn't Work!! (PDF)

Sean W. Mulvenon, Ph.D., Charles E. Stegman, Ph.D., and Charles Watson, Ed.D.

Computation of Confidence Intervals for Growth Performance in Determination
of Safe Harbor Eligibility (PDF)

Sean W. Mulvenon, Ph.D., and Kening Wang, Ph.D.

Graphical Representation of Educational Achievement Data using GIS and PHP (PDF)

Sean W. Mulvenon, Ph.D. George S. Denny, Ph.D., Charles E. Stegman, Ph.D., Denise Airola, and Sarah McKenzie, MS

Improving College Success: A Comprehensive Examination of Student Preparation (PDF)

Tasha Vasluski, Sarah McKenzie, M.S., and Sean W. Mulvenon, Ph.D.

Examining Predictors of College Remediation: The Effects of High School Grade Inflation (PDF)

AERA 2004

McKenzie, S.

The Four-Year Performance Patterns of ECLS-K Children from Different Pre- Kindergarten Care Environments.

Mulvenon, S. W., Stegman, C. & Airola, D.

Adequate Yearly Progress: The process of assessing student improvement.

Swartz, J., & Denny, G.

A survey of best practices for project-based instruction using Internet resources and computer-based multimedia in Arkansas.

Williams, T.L., Turner, R.C., Salamo, G. & Vickers, K.

Personality and Learning Style Differences in Graduate Science Programs Incorporating Business Skills Training

Turner, R.C., & Ritter, G.W..

Does the Impact of Preschool Childcare on Cognition and Behavior Persist Througout the Elementary Years?

Academic Database—Engineering and Management

NORMES has created a database, modeled on the EDDS system, using data collected from participating states. State Departments of Education submit their academic data to the NORMES office. This data is then structured to make it available on the internet via a secure server at NORMES. Superintendents and principals access the data through the use of Enterprise Guide software. The security and confidentiality of data are maintained through restricted access to data libraries housed on the server.

Enterprise Guide is a Windows application designed to enable quick access to the analytical power of SAS. Educators work with Enterprise Guide to

Manage local data
Manage student achievement data housed on NORMES' SAS servers (engineered data sets)
Perform basic reporting summaries for various uses
Produce data reports required by state and federal programs
Perform basic and complex data analyses
Utilize the highest quality SAS graphics
Output HTML, RTF, text or PDF formatted results
Export or publish results to SAS servers and other Windows or server based applications
Output results as SAS datasets for further analysis with other tasks.

Our implementation of Enterprise guide is targeted to administrative level users who are required to generate complex reports for the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).

Training/Support

Training for administrators is available through the NORMES office. Remote technical support is also available. Work in Enterprise Guide can be easily shared with other Enterprise Guide users. This allows NORMES programmers and statisticians to support administrators in their use of the software.