Background: Youth programs often rely on self-reported data without clear evidence as to the accuracy of these reports. Although the validity of self-reporting has been confirmed among some high school and college age students, one area that is absent from extant literature is a serious investigation among younger children. Moreover, there is…

Community coalitions (CCs) have labored with some difficulty to demonstrate empirical evidence of effectiveness in preventing a wide range of adolescent problem behaviors. Training and technical assistance (TA) have been identified as important elements in promoting improved functioning of CCs. A reliable, valid, and inexpensive method to assess…

The goal of college preparation programs is to help students, particularly underrepresented students of color, to enroll and succeed in college. While many programs focus on strengthening students' math and reading skills, familiarizing them with college entrance exams, and demystifying the college admissions process, there are few guidelines for…

Presents three categories of approaches to assess the impact of college supplemental instruction (SI) programs on an institution: anecdotal information; descriptive statistics; and inferential statistics. For SI programs required to justify their existence, these methods include a range of assessment devices from simple testimony to rigorous…

The practice and methods of federal research impact assessment are described. Three areas of evaluation (selection of research project, research review, and postresearch assessment) are examined, and different evaluation methods (qualitative, retrospective, and quantitative) are compared. Peer evaluation, the most common assessment method, is seen…

Analyzes data from the National Assessment of Economic Education Survey using data envelopment analysis. Determines whether high school economics classes in the Developmental Economic Education Program (DEEP) produce higher achievement levels than non-DEEP classes. Calculates technical efficiency of DEEP and non-DEEP classes. Reports results…

Evaluation can be crucial to help meet the needs and requirements of the teacher, students, and curriculum in distance education. Distance education usually encompasses a wide diversity of students, multi-site classrooms, little opportunity for interaction among students, and unfamiliar technology. Because of these uncertainties, evaluation of…

Third in a series, the monograph summarizes the key evaluation issues, design approaches, and statistical techniques used in conducting the 1980-1983 impact evaluation of Indian Education Act Title IV Part A programs. The monograph describes the major problems in evaluating the program to determine the degree of its positive contribution to…

This paper examines how controlling statistically for baseline covariates (especially pretests) improves the precision of studies that randomize schools to measure the impacts of educational interventions on student achievement. Part I of the paper introduces the concepts, issues, and options involved. Parts II and III present empirical findings…

Reports on output measures that can give children's librarians additional information to better control collections and make better selection and weeding decisions. Statistical comparisons utilizing circulation data (comparing circulation year to year, circulation to patrons served, circulation to number of materials owned) and availability of…

Thoughtful, well-planned and systematic reviews of both instructional and noninstructional programs provide community colleges with a way of determining whether programs are meeting stated objectives and what standards of performance should be maintained. Programs that need improvement or should be eliminated can be identified, and fiscal…

An external evaluation of the Title VII Bilingual Education Project was designed to: (1) gather a subjective assessment from personnel working with the project; (2) observe classroom teaching and activities utilized in bilingual instruction; and (3) to measure differences in levels of achievement on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS)…

A discussion of the evaluation of bilingual education programs focuses on building a comprehensive framework for local efforts at evaluation. The discussion begins with an introduction to the legislative history of bilingual education programs and the evolution of their evaluation. This is followed by a review of the literature on current…

This manual is a first effort to begin to identify, describe, and develop procedures for assessing various aspects of digital reference service. Its overall purpose is to improve the quality of digital reference services and assist librarians to design and implement better digital reference services. More specifically, its aim is to: assist…

One in a series of issue papers commissioned by the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), this document presents a comparison of contemporary evaluation approaches for special education programs. The first section describes the two approaches to be compared: (1) traditional scientific inquiry which emphasizes quantitative methods;…