A conceptual framework for considering the costs and benefits of postsecondary education assessment is presented, along with a typology linking the costs of evaluation to their informational benefits. A number of cost-analysis paradigms and techniques for assessing alternative evaluation projects at the institutional level are also examined. The…

Physical education contributes to the physical, mental, and emotional health of young people. Administrators must recognize these contributions and ensure an effective program by evaluating and retraining teachers to keep abreast of the recent knowledge explosion in physical education. (CJH)

Intended for administrators and evaluators, the manual identifies models useful in evaluating special education programs in Maryland. An introduction to program evaluation, defines the concept of educational program evaluation, notes its purpose, and addresses its current status in the field of special education. Chapter 2 goes into greater depth…

The article provides an overview of benefit cost analysis and its limitations and reviews the applications of benefit-cost analysis within vocational programs for persons with severe disabilities. Recommendations are made to assist state and program developers in choosing among program alternatives. (Author/DB)

The current report explores what is available to superintendents after they assume their positions: what the landscape of sustained executive training and support options available for sitting school system leaders looks like. It describes about two dozen programs offered around the country-who offers them, how they are organized and funded, what…

Presently, state and federal school accountability efforts require greater attention to performance measures, such as the graduation rate, which serve as key indicators of a school's success in educating its student population. AZLEARNS, Arizona's school accountability system, includes a school classification system based on a set of performance…

Streamlining involves the modification of cost-analysis methods to make them more appropriate for the limited time and resources, and immediate information needs, of local-level program evaluations. It can also enhance the reliability and validity of district-level studies. A review of existing texts of cost analysis and of studies of traditional…

The use of performance evaluation and performance indicators in Finland is reviewed, and a study of Finnish researchers' perceptions and attitudes about them is discussed. Three conclusions emerged from the study: (1) departmental indicators should be developed; (2) publications are not a bad measure of performance; and (3) most scientists support…

This article overviews existing approaches to the evaluation of programs for gifted youth in the United States. A literature review found definitions, implementations, and consequence evaluations of gifted programs to be very diverse, resulting from lack of central planning, low social priority, and scanty conceptual organization. Possible…

This three-part report provides a literature review on the evaluation of community college staff development programs, reports on a study conducted to identify and validate evaluation criteria, and suggests a process for the use of these criteria in program evaluation. Part I reviews literature focusing on staff and program development,…

Compliance with policy mandates and instructional complexity are unique aspects of special education for which peer review, applied research, and qualitative/naturalistic methods used for evaluating general education are inadequate. A conceptual map designed to organize longitudinal, systematic evaluation of special education addresses its special…

Review of literature concerning the use of program review in higher education lists sources discussing the review process, focusing on the links between program review and other institutional processes, and addressing application of program review principles and practices to different higher education settings. Critical factors for successful use…

This document considers both self-examination and external evaluation of gifted and talented education programs. Principles of the self-examination process are offered, noting similarities to external evaluation models. Principles of self-evaluation efforts include the importance of maintaining a nonjudgmental orientation, soliciting views from…

To improve the chances of success of current master teacher plans, this article examines the strengths and weaknesses of earlier attempts. It focuses on the Temple City, California, master teacher plan, cites reasons for its demise, and suggests alternatives. Charts are included. (DCS)

This monograph provides policy makers and administrators with an overview of distance education principles, technology, and application as they exist today. Section I discusses elements of a distance education process. General headings are personnel, hardware, and software. Section II considers the historical development of distance education and…