Nonprofit organizations are under great pressure to use evaluations to show that their programs "work" and that they are "effective." However, empirical evidence indicates that nonprofits struggle to perform useful evaluations, especially when conducted under accountability pressures. An increasing body of evidence highlights…

There is a growing call for evaluation capacity building (ECB); although the area currently lacks a rich research base, there are few robust methods and practice through which to define it. The argument in this article is that the impact of evaluation is mediated by program stakeholders' engagement in evaluation activities. This mediation provides…

This dissertation offers a case study of the YMCA of the USA's pilot Higher Education Service Project (YHESP) with 61 local YMCAs on how the collaborative evaluation approach functioned to facilitate an organizational culture around evaluation and reinvention strategies of YMCAs as college access service providers. Multiple data collection sources…

Just one of the ways career and technical education (CTE) is revamping its image is through increased attention to data-driven instructional techniques as a means of improving and focusing instruction on what matters most. Accountability and data have increasingly become a core focus of research, news, and commentary about education in recent…

The purpose of the Research and Mapping for MCEECDYA Project: Student Academic Engagement was to examine the characteristics of schools with a low Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) from all jurisdictions that were identified to be making a difference to student academic and to identify the key drivers and characteristics of…

Online education is the fastest growing form of course delivery of higher education in the United States. It has revolutionized how students and instructors interact in the educational process. Yet students in online courses continue to experience higher attrition rates than their counterparts in traditional face-to-face classes despite the…

The purpose of this holistic case study with a mixed methods approach was two-fold: first, to investigate the extent to which elementary teachers in the BTSD sustained the use of formative assessment reform to regulate instruction, and second, to explore the factors that promoted fidelity to formative assessment reform. Although this study…

To propose recommendations for implementing an outcomes-based assessment program review in a California community college district, a grounded theory analysis was performed within the district. The findings generated were cross-referenced with findings from a multi-institutional case study analysis. A key finding from the cross-reference was the…

This case study offers an in-depth look at how one school achieved change in its culture and in its approach to curriculum and instruction. The unit of analysis for this single case study is South Loop Elementary School (SLES) and the time period is from August 2002 to June of 2007, during which SLES students demonstrated sharply improved…

The research reported in this paper is focused directly on assessing the validity of the "Teaching Knowledge about Reading and Reading Practices" (TKRRP) assessment. Following the recommendations of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (APA/AERA, 1999), the authors see validation as a process of constructing an…

A new model of library instruction assessment--a 360 degrees analysis--is needed to address the many facets of the teaching process. This model establishes interconnections in all aspects of instruction and requires a multi-faceted approach that incorporates assessment in every stage of teaching and learning. At The University of Montana Mansfield…

Empowerment evaluation entered the evaluation lexicon in 1993. Since that time, it has attracted many adherents, as well as vocal detractors. A prominent issue in the debates on empowerment evaluation concerns the extent to which empowerment evaluation can be readily distinguished from other approaches to evaluation that share with it an emphasis…

Critiquing the stakeholder idea, the author states: if government chooses to take account of competing views in social program evaluation, it can get a better result if it encourages the competing views to find a voice of their own, not to speak through the government's chosen instrument. (Author/PN)

Discusses a program implemented in Wichita, Kansas, public schools to assess curricular effectiveness in music education. Expounds on the goals of the program, participants involved, problems encountered, and the eventual outcome of the evaluation. Maintains that curriculum must be organized around specific musical objectives rather than musical…

This book approaches the theory and practice of assessment with an overview of the condition of American higher education, addressing its scope, objectives, and diversity. From that base, the book explores the challenges which society poses to campuses in terms of justification of expenditures and demonstration of tangible outcomes. It discusses…