For the past decade, MDRC has evaluated a number of interventions designed to improve the outcomes of community college students, including enhanced counseling, learning communities, and financial incentives. Encouragingly, many of these strategies have produced positive effects, affirming that changes in institutional practices and policies can…

Offering a discussion for administrators and practitioners serving disabled and at-risk infants, toddlers, and their families, these three addresses explore issues, strategies, and models of program evaluation. "Major Issues in Program Evaluation," by Kathryn Barnard, discusses the purpose of, process of, and ways of doing program…

Honors programs are a viable part of the community college response to the challenges of the late 1980's. The growth in the two-year college memberships in Phi Theta Kappa and the National Collegiate Honors Council suggests that greater attention is being given to the academically able students at the two-year college. A rationale for developing…

Winthrop University (South Carolina) has linked classroom research with program accountability in its Learning Research Project, which focuses on general education. The pilot and implementation phases of the project are described, noting problems, frustrations, and rewards in each. The experiment has convinced administration and faculty that…

Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID) is a formative evaluation process used in the Seattle Community College District (SCCD) to help instructors assess their effectiveness and improve their performance in class. Instructors invite a SGID facilitator to meet with their classes in the middle of the term. In the instructor's absence, students…

Describes the peer observation program developed by faculty at California State University, Dominguez Hills, its structure and adaptations, outcomes, and recommendations for development of formative peer observation programs. The program helps reduce faculty professional isolation by providing an informal structure for discussion of teaching and…

A model combining formative and longitudinal program evaluation was applied to two programs (economics/business administration and engineering) at Uppsala University (Sweden) in which students are brought together after two years in regional institutions. Useful features of the evaluation method are discussed and results of job market follow-up…

This paper describes how electronic spreadsheet simulators, originally designed to simulate and replace large paper worksheets used in accounting and financial planning, can be used to study and explore functional relationships among a number of parameters. As a way of providing a context for understanding this application of a spreadsheet…

Classroom assessment and classroom research in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system is traced to 1989 when the terms entered the community-college faculty-development vocabulary. They are now household words among the 500 faculty participating regularly in faculty development. Problems encountered and positive results are…

Discussed is a type of evaluation unlike traditional methods in that it gives students an opportunity to exercise an influence on their own situation. Planning, procedures, and recordings are described. (CW)

The practice profile is a standardized, systematic, cost-effective tool for summarizing the components and requirements of a program in a manner that permits comparison with other programs or selection of discrete components from various programs. It provides a component checklist, a precise list of implementation requirements, and a system for…

A discussion of language teacher education focuses on the importance of making formative curriculum evaluation and curriculum development an integral part of the teacher education program. The paper begins with a description of the Russian Teacher Reeducation Program in Hungary, at Janus Pannonius University, a rigorous inservice program for…

Aid to teachers planning and implementing a child-centered prekindergarten program is offered in this comprehensive guide. After a brief introduction, sections of the guide (1) address the topics of separation and adjustment; (2) present sample room arrangements and suggest ideas for management routines, scheduling, planning, and ordering of…