The federal government has had a long-standing commitment to ensuring access of English Learner (EL) students to a meaningful education. As early as 1968, the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" ("ESEA") contained provisions for supporting the education of EL students and in its 1974 landmark decision, "Lau v.…

High school improvement initiatives often focus on specific intervention strategies, programs, or priority topics (e.g., dropout intervention). However, research shows that systemic and sustainable improvement can only be achieved when initiatives are implemented with consideration for the broader education contexts in which they operate. The…

The Nigerian Government and other stakeholders invest heavily in Education. The Education system should therefore be held accountable to be sure that value is being given to justify the financial investments and the period of time spent schooling. This is only possible through the process of quality control of the Education system and it is…

This series of papers on needs assessment and program evaluation for school library media supervisors defines these concepts and explores ways in which they can be applied to the school media program. Papers included are: "A Humanistic Approach to Needs Assessment and Program Evaluation," by Tom Sills; "Approaches to Needs Assessment and Program…

A six-stage evaluation model is described for gathering data concerning the relative cost-effectiveness of alternative professional development activities which share common objectives. The model specifies the type of cost effectiveness data to gather and the analysis procedures to use in comparing the relative costs and effectiveness of the…

This article describes a three-part evaluation process: (1) developing and designing the evaluation; (2) examining the information collected; and (3) refining and improving the art education program. (KC)

Ways to monitor staff development programs include: (1) counting the number of participants; (2) obtaining participant reactions to programs; and (3) tracking participants by needs, objectives, and inservice topics. A needs assessment model of staff development focuses on information utilization, program impact, and evaluation approaches. (JN)

This article reviews a number of guidance evaluation materials and programs presently in use in terms of Stufflebeam's CIPP model. Some materials were simple evaluation instruments; others were as comprehensive as process guides for the planning, development, and application of a complete systems approach evaluation. (Author)

Developed as part of a three-year project funded by the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), this manual is designed to present librarians in the State of California with an alternative, "sense-making" approach to assessing the information needs of patrons and potential patrons and to assessing accountability, i.e., whether…

The Austin Independent School District Superintendent of Schools required a process for monitoring district activities. The Office of Research and Evaluation developed LOOP (Linking Outcomes to Organizational Planning). LOOP is a management information system through which progress in a number of activities within the school system may be…

This article notes the trend in Australia toward school-based decision making through school/community councils and describes the school evaluation conducted by the Council of the Huntingdale Technical School in Melbourne. (SJL)

Management by objectives (MBO), a participative management process, is discussed with specific reference to helping small colleges deal with enrollment and financial decline. Recommendations for implementation of MBO and some common pitfalls to be avoided are included. (BH)

A model of competency-based general education is set forth in this paper. It aspires to (1) set forth target outcomes for the general education component of a baccalaureate degree and assert a curricular strategy for their achievement; (2) justify the selection of those outcomes and curricular strategies in terms of what is known about the…

This report is part of South Carolina's effort to move toward "100 percent performance funding" for the state's public colleges and universities and results from a task force's investigation of ways to assess critical thinking. The following eight major findings are reported: (1) policy makers must determine priorities; (2) critical…

The 1988 Hawkins Stafford amendments to the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act required that the national evaluation and reporting system for Chapter 1 identify individual school projects in need of improvement. It is argued that the system is unsuited for this purpose, and suggestions for better indicators are provided. (SLD)