The article by Davis, Engberg, Epple, Sieg, and Zimmer (2010) represents one of the recent research efforts from economists in evaluating the impact of gifted programs. It can serve as a worked example of the implementation of the regression discontinuity (RD) design method in gifted education research. In this commentary, we first illustrate the…

Peer education on a college campus may be an ideal nexus for two imperatives facing higher education over the next decade: (1) an increasingly needy student population; and (2) a decreasing level of support for program growth. Despite its long history as a method of instruction, both in and out of the classroom, the benefits of peer education are…

This paper presents the basic nature of the career education effort as currently viewed by USOE's Office of Career Education. The "career education treatment" is defined through role descriptions of several "actor" groups. Nine student outcomes are posited. Part of a theme issue on career education evaluation. (Author/SJL)

Based on the belief that the popularity of accountability periodically waxes and wanes in education, this article outlines a bit of the history of the concept and defines and explains educational accountability. The author traces the roots of accountability back to the 1858 Newcastle report, the first comprehensive survey of English elementary…

This six-chapter monograph presents a model for student development which is designed to unify the diverse purposes of education. After Chapter I reviews recent criticism of education, it goes on to identify problems in the performance of our educational system and to propose that a student development perspective on education provides a framework…

In an interview with Albert H. Quie, governor of Minnesota, he gives his opinion about the impact of research studies or educational evaluation on policy decision making in Congress, and the role of Congressional Committee staff members. (MH)

Focusing on issues involved in improving the education of low-income children, this paper identifies two categories of questions: (1) programmatic questions, which concern what and how to teach; and (2) procedural questions, which concern how best to insure implementation of instructional approaches. The discussion also provides a summary of what…

The authors state that if teachers and administrators are to be truly effective, the future context in which students will live and work is vital to understanding efficacy, and the emergence of new information tools offers alternative routes to efficiency. (CT)

Good evaluation shares much with good teaching. What makes an evaluation useful can depend on qualities of teaching brought to the evaluator's role. (Available from: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 433 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104, single issue, $6.95.) (Author)

One of 10 studies commissioned to investigate research needs and to stimulate planning activities, this paper reviews program evaluation in foreign language education (FLED), and offers a number of recommendations to improve present practice. It begins by noting that very little FLED program evaluation is taking place today, and by arguing that…

Suggests that the teaching staff must play a major part in the evaluation of a school reading program and outlines a program for implementing this idea. Contains a scale for program evaluation. (FL)

This essay discusses the federal role in the improvement of educational practice nationally and at the local level, the role and influence of federal or other national program evaluations on local curriculum decisions, and the differences in role perceptions between federal and local school district officials. (CT)

Strategies for increasing evaluation research leverage are reviewed. Alignment of evaluation research with regulatory bodies with authority to suspend public program expenditures is advocated. Several likely obstacles in the development of the regulatory evaluation model are anticipated and addressed. (Author/RL)

Program evaluation must be practiced by all members of all trades, disciplines, professions, or any other group of people whose efforts are aimed at making a difference. There is a role for "content free" evaluation methodology resources, but not for a professional "content free" evaluator. (RL)

Authoritarian management systems, best suited to institutions that enjoy a relatively high degree of uniformity, are not appropriate for public education. In nine proposals the author urges a major realignment of the roles and relationships of a district's professional educators, to create a uniquely suitable educational management system.…