The concept of treatment integrity cuts across a diversity of fields involved with providing treatments or interventions to individuals. In medical treatments, the concept of "treatment compliance" or "treatment adherence" is an important and problematic issue. In the field of nutrition, the concept of "dietary adherence" is important for…

Proposes a systematic approach that focuses on student success and continual improvement in retention to assess college student retention programs Identifies three major components of retention research: (1) determining dropout predictors; (2) identifying critical points; and (3) validating outcomes assessment of retention endeavors. Also…

The concept of quality is analyzed with special attention to its different senses in two contexts: qualitative evaluation and assessment of educational program quality. The view that evaluation of program quality cannot be validly expressed in quantitative terms and that qualitative evaluation methodologies have special relevance for the…

Some early childhood variables are examined to evaluate their predictive validity. The selection of children needing early childhood Title I services is complicated by the lack of criteria for defining who is educationally disadvantaged and the special problems of early childhood testing and measurement. The study used re-analysis of longitudinal…

Data from interviews with elementary school principals are examined for insights into the impact of administrative style on evaluation utilization. Characteristics of 23 principals' administrative styles are classified as being either "compliance" (CO) or "non-compliance" (NCO) oriented. CO principals are characterized by the following: (1)…

Three types of macro-level variables for program analysis--cultural, economic and demographic--provide a context for evaluation and offer alternative explanations for program success or failure. The problems of causality and availability of data, as well as the usefulness of macro variables in meta evaluation are discussed. (Author/CM)

Social area analysis (SAA) is defined, and its conceptual roots and principal applications identified. The utility of SAA is assessed by reviewing use of demographic data among several disciplines. Authors review seminal and recent contributions to the field. Ecological fallacies and other problematic facets of SAA are considered. (Author/DWH)

After outlining the 1984 activities and results of the Center for the Study of Evaluation's (CSE's) Evaluation Productivity Project, this monograph presents three reports. The first, "The Administrator's Role in Evaluation Use," by James Burry, Marvin C. Alkin, and Joan A. Ruskus, describes the factors influencing an evaluation's use…