Increasing attention to "Implementation Research" and the "Implementation Problem" has given rise to confusion about matters such as the role of "empirically-supported practices," "fidelity of implementation," and "monitoring fidelity of implementation." To clarify the matters, we approach these topics from the broad perspective of efforts to…

This study was conducted by the Central Region Educational Laboratory (REL Central) administered by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning to provide educators and policymakers with rigorous evidence about the potential of Classroom Assessment for Student Learning (CASL) to improve student achievement. CASL is a widely used professional…

To assure accountability to educational policy developed by elected and appointed leaders, agencies and organizations must adopt high quality evaluation designs tailored to meet three basic tenets: (1) different processes for policy formation and demonstration of accountability; (2) clear accountability expectations built into policies; (3)…

This presentation examines the history of merit pay and analyzes studies and research on merit pay to discover directions for developing effective procedures. Reasons for failure of merit pay plans include administrative problems, personnel problems, collective bargaining, financial problems, unsatisfactory evaluation, staff dissension,…

Quality measures were originally developed for research aimed at describing the settings that children spend time in and identifying the characteristics of these environments that contribute to children's development. They were also developed to guide improvements in practice. Increasingly, however, measures of quality are being used for further…

This report describes the District of Columbia Public Schools education plan for the school years 1988-92. It includes information on the planning process and the goals and constraints which determined the final shape of the plan. The report also contains the following: (1) a description of employment trends which will influence the skills…

The Data Quality Campaign is a national, collaborative effort to encourage and support state policymakers to improve the collection, availability and use of high-quality education data and to implement state longitudinal data systems to improve student achievement. The campaign aims to provide tools and resources that will assist state development…

The booklet briefly reviews and illustrates the kinds of evaluation efforts funders and policymakers may reasonably expect from providers of services to handicapped infants and their families. It outlines the aims and characteristics of (1) outcome evaluations to determine the effectiveness of service programs and (2) process evaluations to…

The Data Quality Campaign is a national, collaborative effort to encourage and support state policymakers to improve the collection, availability and use of high-quality education data and to implement state longitudinal data systems to improve student achievement. The campaign aims to provide tools and resources that will assist state development…

Partnerships between schools and businesses are becoming more frequent and more reciprocal as the two find common interests; the Salem-Keizer (Oregon) Public Schools provide a nationally recognized example of such a partnership. Salem's program began in 1981 with a joint school board and Chamber of Commerce policy statement. Despite economic…

This is the first report on the evaluation of the Inquiry Based Science and Technology Education Program (IN-STEP), an innovative and ambitious science education initiative for lower secondary schools being undertaken by a public-private partnership in Thailand funded by MSD-Thailand, an affiliate of Merck & Co. IN-STEP is a public-private…

A 2-phase study provided summative information on the status of the statewide implementation of California's federally funded migrant program and also provided confidential formative information to program participants at district, regional, and state levels. Guided by an advisory panel, phase I was conducted in 1980-1981 and covered all grade…