Food retailers are key stakeholders in the development, implementation, and effectiveness of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) nutrition pilot programs. Qualitative interviews were conducted to gather insight from food retailers regarding the feasibility of proposed strategies to improve food choices among SNAP participants. Two…

Funded grant projects all involve some form of evaluation, and Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grants are no exception. Program evaluation serves as a critical component not only for evaluating if a project has met its intended and desired outcomes, but the evaluation process is also a central feature of the grant application itself.…

Home visitation programs are designed to provide comprehensive services that promote parent's abilities to create stable, nurturing care environments for their children. In order for program goals to be met, parents must participate actively and be engaged with the programs' mission. However, promoting engagement and participation are complex…

The article presents results of the evaluation of the GLOBE program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) in the Czech Republic. The evaluation explores the implementation of the program in schools and its impact on research skills. Four hundred and sixty six pupils, aged 13, from 28 different schools participated in the…

The 2004-05 school year didn't start off well for the Sanger Unified School District. The district, located east of Fresno, had entered its first year of "program improvement"--a gentler way of saying that Sanger was among the 98 lowest-performing districts in the state based on success criteria in the No Child Left Behind law. The…

Purpose/Objective: This case study identified common elements of three diverse New England school districts that were real-world models of improving school meals. Methods: School districts that had greater than 1,000 students, [greater than or equal to]3 schools, and [greater than or equal to]40% of students who qualified for free- or…

Using concepts from the evaluation literature, this case study describes the instrumental, conceptual, and political influence of the Head Start National Reporting System (NRS) and on-going child assessments in a local Head Start program. This study found that a local program intentionally aimed to limit the influence of the NRS. The NRS validated…

This article reports on a faculty development model that uses a variety of approaches and strategies to help faculty restructure their curricula and effectively model technology integration for their students. A multifaceted model, funded in part by the "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology" (PT3) initiative, was implemented…

Drawing on a realistic model for evaluating compensatory education effects, Chapter 1 staff members have developed a workshop series aimed at improving the effectiveness of local Chapter 1 programs. Improvement efforts are to be data driven, research based, team centered, locally controlled, systematic, and focused on student outcomes. (20…

A former MDTA and CETA project coordinator describes the goals and frustrations accrued during several years' field experience with funded programs. He recommends a redirection of CETA back toward a vocational and occupational training emphasis. This would serve to enlarge the skills and competencies of those covered by the program. (CT)

Until the past few years, our nation's approach to designing federal programs for preschool-age children lacked coherence and paid little attention to what had worked (and not worked) in the past. In this article, the authors propose that credible information useful for designing effective programs will require the ongoing, systematic development…

The most serious problem with the current work force preparation system is that many employment and training programs operate today to serve roughly the same people. Instead, these programs should be coordinated better to lower costs in the face of lowered funding. The General Accounting Office reports that about 125 federal programs do…

Discusses the growth in Social Security Administration (SSA) disability programs and suggests that one means of assisting SSA beneficiaries to reduce dependence is for the SSA to directly or indirectly fund competitive employment initiatives focusing on vocational rehabilitation for individuals who are currently served in nonremunerative day…

Excerpts of the NIE Vocational Education Study are presented. Areas covered include federal goals, distributing funds, special needs students, sex equity, improving planning, extending and improving programs, strengthening evaluations, and options for change. (CT)

The Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program (JOBS) is an ambitious federal effort at welfare reform but the federal government has given local operators little direction on how to run it. JOBS can be improved using existing evaluations and analyses of administrative data. Reform depends mostly on capable local administration. (JOW)