A critical guide is offered regarding ethnographic evaluation data: the analytical descriptions or reconstructions of intact cultural scenes and groups which delineate the shared beliefs, practices, artifacts, folk knowledge, and behaviors of some group of people. (PN)

Drawing on British data, this article discusses issues involved in analyzing educational indicator data. Gross productivity, new productivity, and inequality are discussed as types of indicators that describe interdistrict variation in Great Britain. Recommendations are made regarding features of an educational assessment that would be necessary…

A performance evaluation model is presented to address the need for measuring the effectiveness of educational training programs in institutions of higher learning. The model emphasizes outcomes by assessing the quality of change that occurs in individual and program performance. (Author/LMO)

This study evaluates 35 federal and privately sponsored databases that report national education statistics in terms of their potential for informing policy deliberations. It argues that for all the national data collected, information is lacking on several major concerns, is often inadequate statistically, and is sometimes contradictory. Various…

Highlights lessons learned by a national organization, the Council of Chief State School Officers, in building an education indicator system in cooperation with federal and state education agencies. Issues emphasized are (1) the role of consensus; (2) production of indicators through a cooperative data system; and (3) reporting methods. (SLD)

The extent to which students with disabilities are represented in national data collection programs was investigated by reviewing nine such programs that are receiving attention in current educational reform initiatives. Results suggest that 40-50% of students with disabilities are excluded from these prominent data collection programs. (SLD)

An evaluation study of the district's counseling and guidance services was undertaken to provide guidance to the San Mateo City School District Board of Trustees in their consideration of staff reductions. Evaluation to support policy decisions should use multiple measures, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data addressing board…

Data collected at three schools in California with programs for students of limited English proficiency (LEP) suggests that exit rates should not be the focus of evaluations of LEP programs and that schools cannot adequately answer questions about students' academic achievement and English language acquisition by program type. (SLD)

Studies of the mathematics assessments of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are summarized. One study found that omit rates for NAEP test items were higher for African Americans and Hispanics than for whites. The other found that descriptions and examples for the 1992 mathematics achievement levels were misleading. (SLD)