This report summarizes the complex research literature on quantitative methods for assessing how impacts of educational interventions on instructional practices and student learning differ across students, educators, and schools. It also provides technical guidance about the use and interpretation of these methods. The research topics addressed…

A difficulty associated with the use of Golub and Frederick's syntactic density score was the time required in hand tabulation. This drawback was resolved with the development by Kidder of a computer program which calculates a syntactic density score for writing samples. The purpose of this study was to examine the sensitivity of the Syntactic…

Develops generalizations for empirical evaluation of software based upon suitability of several research designs--pretest posttest control group, single-group pretest posttest, nonequivalent control group, time series, and regression discontinuity--to type of software being evaluated, and on circumstances under which evaluation is conducted. (MBR)

For this evaluation of a multicultural education unit, Staged Innovation Design, which allows for experimental group posttest scores to be compared to control-replication group pretest and posttest scores to ascertain instructional effectiveness, was modified by adding a simultaneous pretest for both groups to control for threats to internal…

Description of study to determine the impact of management training on student performance focuses on the need for proper evaluation. Pre- and posttraining evaluative tools for rating managers are described, differences in ratings are analyzed, and implications for evaluating management training on interpersonal skills are discussed. (LRW)

Examines research conducted at the British Open University using the research paradigm of phenomenography to discover what students understand about particular concepts in social science. The use of student interviews for formative and summative evaluation is described, and changes in course materials based on the results are discussed.…

Responding to the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) "Essential Computing Competencies for Educators" (1983), the teacher's education program at Texas A&M University developed several computer literacy courses for its students. An evaluation was conducted of the first of these courses, "Microcomputer Literacy for Educators," to…

This study used the Model for Assessing Learning with Logo (Nolan and Ryba) to examine effects of Logo programming on junior high school students' thinking skills. The model addresses both student acquisition of Logo-related thinking skills and the extent to which they transfer skills to noncomputer problem solving tasks. (MBR)

In response to growing frustration over the lack of information about the national effectiveness of the Chapter 1 program, Congress enacted the Education Amendments of 1974. Section 151 of the Amendments directed the U.S. Office of Education to develop evaluation models that would allow school district data to be aggregated to provide national…

The effectiveness of an Education Consolidation Improvement Act Chapter 1 program was studied in a large urban school district. A common problem in evaluating remedial programs is that pretest/posttest achievement gains often indicate the effects of the entire curriculum, rather than those specific to the remedial class. In this district, over…

Practical and technical advice is provided for staff responsible for planning evaluations of Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 1 migrant programs at the state level. The report is limited to evaluating achievement gains in basic skills; this is, however, acknowledged as only one facet of a comprehensive migrant program…

One of the most appropriate quasiexperimental approaches to compensatory education is the regression-discontinuity design. However, it remains underutilized, in part because of the need to clarify the link between the mathematical model and administrative decision-making. This paper explains the derivation of a program efficiency index congruent…

These papers were presented as a symposium on the revision of the general education program at the University of Montevallo (UM) in Alabama. The first paper, "Introduction to Evaluation of General Education at the University of Montevallo," by Patricia S. Ernest and Elizabeth H. Rodgers, describes the core curriculum study and the 13…

There are a number of issues involved in the validation of measures of teacher effectiveness, that is, a teacher's ability to promote student learning. Teachers' characeristics may be assessed at five different points: (1) pre-existing teacher characteristics--knowledge, skills, and attitudes which are necessary for success in the teacher…