This commentary includes a brief discussion of issues raised by the articles and systematic review contained in this special issue addressing technology applications for persons with severe developmental disabilities. Topical areas include a discussion of: (1) a need to compare "high tech" with "low tech" applications, (2) procedural fidelity, (3)…

The basic functions and procedures of management consulting are contrasted with formal program evaluation. A case example illustrates the differing approaches used in programmatic problem solving. The similarities and differences between these specializations are highlighted to understand their unique but complementary contributions to the…

An examination of the scientific basis of both control group designs and comparative designs in outcome research reveals that comparative designs generally have fewer threats to validity and provide a more efficient means of control for nonspecific treatment factors suggesting that comparative studies warrant a larger role in the study of…

Methods useful in identifying and assessing outcomes of relatively simple programs may not be practical or appropriate for complex programs and systems. Comparative case study methods are recommended for dealing with such global outcomes of planned organizational change. (Author)

Argues that a process/product distinction is an important one to make when evaluating English as a second language programs. Compares this distinction to that between formative and summative evaluation as described by Scriven in 1967, noting that the two reflect different, not competing, perspectives. Outlines the role of classroom-centered…

Discusses the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (I.E.A.) and its use of the National Case Study Questionnaire (NCSQ) in connection with six subject studies. The purpose of the NCSQ was (1) to identify factors that account for the differences among educational systems and (2) to relate these factors to the…

The author compares his experiences evaluating Peace Corps volunteers in Kenya and evaluating a health promotion program for adolescents in Orange County, California. Doing international evaluations can improve domestic evaluations by heightening awareness of often unrecognized cultural variations in the domestic setting. (BS)

This investigation examines two contrasting evaluations of early childhood education: the Westinghouse-Ohio University study and the Ypsilanti Perry Preschool Project. The Westinghouse study concluded that Head Start experience had very little, if any, academic value for participating children, whereas the Perry Preschool Project concluded that…

The author discusses several dimensions of evaluation utilization in educational settings as a step toward clarifying the meaning of the term. Definitions of evaluation and utilization are offered, distinctions are made between use and utilization, and the processes necessary for determining if an evaluation use is a true utilization are outlined.…

Reports that a large number of international schools run the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP) and the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) concurrently, despite questions about their compatibility. States that, with IBMYP models, teachers are better able to help students find their niche by…

Differences in conditions in the U.S. and one developing country, the Bahamas, suggest that evaluation of higher education programs are more welcome in the latter. U.S. evaluation programs, such as Florida's annual review of selected disciplines in its nine state institutions of higher education, are few in number and have spread only recently, in…

Evaluation utilization/use is discussed with the concept of user rationality (including examples where the rational use of evaluation results may be unclear or may be nonuse). A current project focuses on studying the process of evaluation information use and on validating a theory of use. (Author/LC)

A discussion of the National Research Council's 1995 ranking of research-doctorate programs in the United States criticizes the report for what it does not address, particularly comparisons with the information it disseminated in a 1982 report, some data discrepancies, and central issues such as an institution's available methods of instruction,…

Describes the evolution of distance education courses at the University of South Carolina and the results of a study of students who participated in those courses. Highlights include student performance and reactions of both students and faculty to the telecourses. (Author/CLB)

A conceptual analysis of gain scores and a technically sound procedure for using such scores to compare different instructional programs are presented. The procedure proposed makes use of an index called Rescaled and Adjusted Gains within Strata (RAGS), together with a flexible but explicit procedure for score analysis and reporting. (LC)