The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evaluates research studies that look at the effectiveness of education programs, products, practices, and policies, which the WWC calls "interventions." Many studies of education interventions make claims about impacts on students' outcomes. Some studies have designs that enable readers to make causal…

This guide is designed to help districts and schools evaluate reform efforts related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), including School Improvement Grants. It includes practical, how-to tips for conducting program evaluations, whether one takes a "do-it-yourself" approach or seeks outside assistance to evaluate reform…

Performance funding--the linking of allocation of resources to accomplishment of certain desired outcomes--is an idea that is once again finding favor with policymakers. It has intuitive appeal; what's not to like about paying for results? While it is a notion that makes common sense to most decisionmakers, it is an idea with a very checkered…

This book contains four papers commissioned by the National Center on Employment Policy to review programs conducted by the Office of Policy, Evaluation, and Research in the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration. The Council's policy statement entitled "Appraising Employment and Training Research" appears first. In…

This report, prepared in response to a requirement in the Academic Research Facilities Modernization Act, proposes a plan for the modernization of general research facilities in which academic research is conducted, including research buildings, research laboratories, support rooms, and other institutional or departmental facilities in scientific…

This guide aims to help education policy leaders develop effective policy in support of good teaching and learning. It provides tools and resources that help policy leaders to: (1) Look back at the research on strategies and practices that have been proven to bring about results for the greatest number of students; (2) Look around in order to…

This feasibility study contains a design for evaluating vocational education research and development (R & D). The study developed a model for evaluating vocational education R & D based on legislative frames of reference for research, exemplary projects, and curriculum development. Called an Impact Tracer Model, the program is based on…

Research indicates that token rewards of students have negative consequences. Using this as an example, school board members who are asked to support proposals for new programs should refuse to consider programs not grounded in substantive research and to expect staff members to develop a program-planning process that includes indepth research…

During its third year of operation, the National Council on the Handicapped continued to develop priorities for the National Institute of Handicapped Research (NIHR) and worked to identify all research on disabilities and handicaps that is currently underway. In addition, the council's Committee on Services undertook a review and assessment of…

The need to plan for operating and service patterns and to establish priorities for services to readers in the new Reference and Bibliographical Center at the Newberry Library guided this self-study. From December 1983 to August 1984, 32 staff members (grouped into 1 study team and 4 task forces) investigated the critical issues of bibliographic…

This Policy Research Brief explores the strengths of qualitative research and the types of information it can make available to policymakers concerned with issues affecting persons with disabilities. The naturalistic methodology employed in qualitative research is described. Three specific studies using qualitative methodology are excerpted and…

Background information on the relationship between educational laboratories, research and development (R&D) centers, and the National Institute of Education (NIE) is presented. Attention is directed to: (1) the authorizing legislation for and the subsequent creation of the laboratories and centers; (2) a chronology of selected major events…

The administrative problems of public sector research programs in developing nations include lack of major public policies and too many minor ones, inadequate or haphazard planning, budgetary constraints, inadequate evaluation and monitoring, inadequate or obsolete equipment and facilities, trained manpower shortages, and limited motivation. (MSE)

In response to a 1989 legislative mandate urging all Indiana state universities and Indiana Vocational Technical College (IVTC) to facilitate the transfer of credits, this paper presents a proposal for a study to determine how well the institutions are complying with the wishes of the general assembly. The paper presents background on the…

This project proposes the development and implementation of a model system for collecting, documenting, and reporting to the Atlanta (Georgia) Board of Education information that will indicate the number, ages, and grades of students dropping out of the Atlanta Public School System (APS). Furthermore, this project will demonstrate an effective…