E-portfolios are a rich, flexible tool for teaching, learning, and assessment. They provide institutions with a way to assess how well they are educating their students. However, it is important for institutions to know why e-portfolios are important learning and assessment tool for institutions both now and for the future. Higher education…

The Vocational Education Evaluation in Virginia (VEEVA) evaluation procedures were studied. Data from questionnaires completed by evaluation coordinators were organized and are presented in the article. Recommendations and implications provide insights into the improvement of evaluation systems. (DWH)

The extent to which evaluation and auditing have converged on procedures in recent years and the extent to which they remain different are examined in the five chapters of this special issue. Different emphases, the question of collaboration with the subjects of inquiry, and issues of routinized performance are explored. (SLD)

The Holtzman Project at Northwestern University reviewed educational program evaluations at the federal, state, and local levels of government. This paper focuses on the administration of the project, including constraints on its operations, the strategic decisions that seemed correct at the time, and some decisions that now seem wrong. (BW)

Suggestions for enhancing use of evaluation studies (i.e., state-level mental health programs) are presented. Steps for maximizing evaluation utilization include marketing, planning, and conducting the evaluation; developing/focusing policy questions; translating findings; and making people pay attention to the results. These are processes for…

The assertion that evaluation has become institutionalized at state and local levels to a much greater degree than is commonly understood is supported by a discussion of trends in evaluation. Evidence is presented that evaluation plays an increasingly important informational role as the level of evaluation becomes more local. (SLD)

Interviews with state legislators from Wisconsin (D. Bezruki), Massachusetts (T. P. Kennedy), and Virginia (P. Leone) illustrate the roles that evaluation is playing in the current state budget crisis. The influence of evaluation data appears largely specific to individual programs rather than systematically applied to the budgeting process. (SLD)

An evaluation system which would describe and assess statewide services for preschool children is described. Component theory conceptualizes the unit of analysis for evaluation as the component. This approach increases the generalizability and utilization of evaluations and enhances the ability to evaluate several programs at the state level.…

This article concerns recommendations made in a report to Congress and the Department of Education on evaluation of federally supported education programs. The work covers local, state, and federal efforts to address questions about why and how well evaluations are done, and about how results are used. The recommendations are directed toward…

Recommendations are made to Congress and the Department of Education on evaluation of federally supported education programs. The work covers local, state, and federal efforts to address questions about evaluation procedures and practices, and the use of evaluation results. The recommendations are directed toward improving the quality and…

The evaluator's role in planning/implementing an evaluation of a new program to train school administrators in performance appraisal skills is described. This case study of the evaluators' broadening roles uses E. Chelimsky's continuum (1987) to analyze political processes and decision making involved in the evaluation of a state-funded program.…

The Bureau of Evaluation, created by the Louisiana Department of Education, has established policies and procedures that ensure use of evaluation findings by both policymakers and program administrators. Information on its development, structure, mission, rationale, staffing, and operations is provided. (PN)

On the surface, it appears that it should be quite simple to identify the characteristics of a child who is ready for school and then to assess whether or not any given child has these characteristics. But readiness is a difficult construct and one that has been the topic of great debate. Assessment of readiness is even more challenging. Policies…

Current practices of most state vocational rehabilitation programs concerning the use and reporting of benefit-cost results are reviewed, and problematic issues are identified. Empirical data from Minnesota illustrate alternative ways of reporting evaluation results relating to efficiency. The recommended accounting framework provides relevant and…

Most states have expanded their statewide testing programs to include alternative educational assessments, and two (Kentucky and Maine) have completely abandoned the multiple-choice format. However, over half of states designing alternative assessments are encountering major difficulties related to the high cost of performance-based assessments,…