This article presents a content analysis of the 2013 School Leadership Program (SLP) grants. SLP projects provide a unique opportunity for participants in the field to explore innovative leadership preparation and development and their impact on program participants, schools, school districts, and students. The article begins with an overview of…

The Evidence-based Literacy Support-"Literacy Octopus" Trial tested a range of dissemination interventions and resources, all of which aimed to engage schools in using evidence-based materials to improve teaching and learning in Key Stage 2 literacy. Four delivery partners provided interventions. These included light-touch,…

In recent years, increased focus on the effectiveness and accountability of prevention and intervention programs has led to greater government funding for the implementation and spread of evidence-based health and human service delivery models. In particular, attention has been paid to programs that require significant infrastructure investment…

Over the past decade and a half, state governments have assumed greater responsibility over demand-side management (DSM) operations. Whereas DSM programs formerly were initiated primarily by utilities or state public utility commissions, they are now becoming increasingly state-initiated and incentivized through funding mechanisms or…

This is the final report of the National Evaluation of Student Support Services (SSS). SSS is one of eight federally funded grant programs that are administered as part of the Federal TRIO Programs within the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The SSS program, in particular, focuses on students while they are enrolled in college. In general, SSS…

Challenges to classical psychometric theory are examined in the context of a broader range of fundamental, derived, and intuitive measurements in psychology; the challenges include content-referenced testing, latent trait theory, and generalizability theory. A taxonomy of psychological measurement is developed, based on: (1) purposes of…

This study attempts to clarify some of the issues involved in defining the effectiveness of compensatory education programs. It discusses the extent to which conclusions about the effectiveness of compensatory education programs are affected by two major components of an evaluation: the period of time on which the evaluation is based and the…

The estimation of the "size of effect" of educational programs is a difficult problem in program evaluation. It is argued that the intentions of the program and the nature of the measures must be known in order to estimate program effects. (JKS)

This article shows how microcomputer software can help in overcoming key methological problems in program/policy evaluation by: (1) paired comparisons; (2) sensitivity analysis to deal with missing information; (3) allocation percentages to deal with multiple alternatives; (4) sub-optimizing to deal with conflicting constraints; and (5) decision…

A distinction is made between program evaluation and project evaluation. The former is used to determine the effectiveness of a particular program or to compare programs. The latter is used in the initial stages of program development to define and monitor progress; to identify problems at an early stage; to record what is done and why; and to…

This paper addresses some of the concerns inherent in evaluating feminists' projects and focuses on three topics: (1) a discussion of some objections raised by feminists about traditional forms of assessment; (2) a description of the strengths and weaknesses of illuminative evaluation as an alternative approach to evaluate feminist programs; and…

A responsive educational evaluation is oriented more to program activities than to program intents, and stresses learning about the needs of the evaluation's audience, so that these value perspectives can be noted in reporting the successes and failures of the program. Most evaluation plans are more preordinate, emphasizing: (1) statements of…

These four papers focus on a consideration of the costs of evaluation, as examined in the Evaluation Use Project. "A Framework for Estimating Evaluation Costs," by Marvin Alkin and Brian Stecher, considers overall theory and draws on previous research in determing evaluation costs. The concepts are extended to develop informal quidelines…

This paper proposes an evaluation design for Mercer County, West Virginia's state funded early childhood education program, which was initiated to replace independent kindergarten programs. An introductory discussion lists the broad goals of the program, three data collection time schedules, program variables that define the model of the program,…

A study to compare the impact of responsive (case study) and preordinate (questionnaire) approaches to program evaluation was conducted among 29 professional personnel affiliated with Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Respondents preferred the responsive approach to the preordinate method; however, the responsive approach was more…