The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) coordinates Federal programs and activities in support of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education pursuant to the requirements of Sec. 101 of the America COMPETES (Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology…

The question of how close a recreation program approximates the original objective of the programer can only be answered by extensive evaluation. The true value of the total recreation program may be determined by evaluating the benefit of a recreation program to the participant. (JN)

Individual plans for people with intellectual disabilities were evaluated for quality and effectiveness in improving quality of life. Quality was assessed by rating whether goals were relevant, observable, age appropriate, necessary, timetabled, developmental, measurable, realistic, assigned to staff and improving at least one of O'Brien's five…

Managers and program sponsors are often unaware of possible alternatives to costly training evaluation procedures and do not have criteria for selecting alternatives. What is needed is an understanding of the various levels of evaluating training programs, feasible alternatives, and decision criteria for choosing the right system. It is proposed…

As the second phase of a two phase assessment, this report presents the results of a rapid feedback evaluation of the extent to which the Women's Educational Equity Act Program (WEEAP) is making progress toward its objectives. Two different kinds of management-oriented information gathering activities were involved: "evaluability…

This report evaluates a volunteer program established in the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation in Columbus, Indiana. Areas identified for evaluation were (1) the fulfillment or achievement of program objectives; (2) measurable differences in volunteers' attitudes toward the schooling process and parenting skills, as well as their…

The adequacy of the Village Library Project, headquartered in Nome, Alaska, to meet the library service needs and desires of the people in 18 villages on Seward Peninsula, St. Lawrence Island, and Diomede is evaluated in this report. Sections are devoted to the goals of the evaluation, evaluation procedure, goals and objectives of the project,…

In 1997, the Community Alternative Placement Scheme (CAPS) was organized by NCH Action for Children (Scotland) to provide family placements for youth who would otherwise enter or remain in secure care. This evaluation study assessed the extent to which CAPS met its goals during the first 3 years of operation and examined the program's impact on…

One of six projects funded by P.L. 93-247 state grant money, the Foster Child Advocate Services (FOCAS) Project established a guardian "ad litem" program in which court-approved members of the community volunteered to visit children in Texas State Department of Human Resources Conservatorships. Part I of the report, describing the…

Some of the confusion surrounding evaluations of case management results from lack of clarity about value frames used to arrive at judgments of the merit of case management. Six value frames commonly applied to human service evaluation are reviewed, and the relevance of each perspective is examined. (SLD)

The National Sex Equity Demonstration Project (NSEDP) in the Broward County Schools, Florida, was created in 1979 to provide a demonstration of sex equity teaching. The two principal thrusts of the Project were to review materials to be used by regular teachers and to demonstrate how classrooms (and a whole district) could diminish discrimination…

The eight articles of this issue examine the nature of differences that arise between qualitative and quantitative researchers in program evaluation in terms of goals and epistemologies. The origins of these differences and their consequences are explored. Authors represent both perspectives but do not defend their ideological turfs. (SLD)

This report evaluates a project designed to provide systemwide direction to the application of education technology in the District of Columbia (DC) Public Schools. The evaluation follows the Planning, Monitoring, and Implementing (PMI) Evaluation Model for Decision Making which was developed by the Division of Quality Assurance of the DC school…

A program evaluation assessed the implementation of the Alaska Department of Education's State Plan for Career Education, 1978-1983. Focus was on the degree to which the state plan objectives involving curriculum change, career counseling, special groups, business and industry, home and family, and inservice education were completed. Activities…

Seven chapters present 31 propositions challenging traditional ideas about the nature and practice of program evaluation. Methods to improve evaluation models and approaches and ways to address intermediate and advanced evaluation issues are explored. The discussion also serves as an introduction to the most analytical and comprehensive of the…