The purpose of these guidelines is to support the execution of cost analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis of educational programs. The steps involved in conducting a cost analysis are presented in four stages with explicit examples used throughout: designing your cost analysis, collecting cost data using the ingredients method, analyzing cost…

We review the value of cost-effectiveness analysis for evaluation and decision making with respect to educational programs and discuss its application to early reading interventions. We describe the conditions for a rigorous cost-effectiveness analysis and illustrate the challenges of applying the method in practice, providing examples of programs…

An opportunistic experiment is a type of randomized controlled trial that studies the effects of a planned intervention or policy change with minimal added disruption and cost. This guide defines opportunistic experiments and provides examples, discusses issues to consider when identifying potential opportunistic experiments, and outlines the…

Many school district strategic plans and education conferences are aggressively embracing technology to improve teaching and learning. Classroom technology typically includes blended learning, personalized learning, online courses for students, and professional development for teachers, among many other things. As districts wrestle with tighter…

Content analysis of critical events methodology is demonstrated in an evaluation of the Educational Telecommunications for Alaska (ETA) Project. This methodology was used to collect and interpret the data derived from the ETA staff personnel representing five components of the project. The data were analyzed using content analysis procedures. The…

This report, divided into six sections, is a summary of a study to research the costs of implementing Individually Guided Instruction (IGE). Section 1 introduces IGE and gives a brief overview of all studies conducted as part of the Institute for Development of Educational Activities grant to Teachers College, University of Nebraska. Section 2,…

The costs of evaluation are affected by program characteristics and the extent to which it is important to be confident about proof and causality. They are also affected by decisions about issues, resources, evidence, data gathering, data analysis, and reporting. (CT)

This paper examines the major methodological advantages of random assignment for the purpose of estimating the effectiveness of current manpower policy. It also reviews the claimed methodological and ethical objections to experiments. The authors argue that the offsetting gain from experimentation is the inherent reliability of experimental…

Describes the conspectus collection evaluation process and its utility to smaller libraries, as demonstrated by the Library and Information Resources for the Northwest project. The discussion includes the costs of this method in staff time, the value of a completed conspectus, and problems with the methodology. (13 notes with references) (CLB)

Focuses on ethical issues that can arise in the collection and analysis of data in evaluations. Addresses four issues: (1) the application of cost-benefit thinking to judgments about research ethics, (2) the quality of research design, (3) the need to explore the data, and (4) the censoring of data. (Author/SLD)

With the increased use of the follow-up study on graduates, it has become necessary to research and compare the results of alternative methods of data collection on a diverse student population. The purpose of this study is to determine the most effective data collection method by examining the rate and nature of responses and the cost of three…

The purpose of the document is to explain how managers can use cost and output data to obtain information which will help them utilize resources wisely. It points out what numbers of manager needs to know and distinguishes between data and information. Data must be organized to enable comparisons to be made and relationships identified. Conceptual…

What line managers want most from trainers is proof of a training investment pay-off, and techniques are offered to help trainers measure the organizational return on training. (Author/AJ)

This guide to program evaluation presents questions that illuminate aspects of the evaluation process. Issues to consider in program evaluation are: (1) the intended results of the program; (2) hypotheses about the possible results of the program; (3) the types of data that will indicate achievement of the intended results and the variables that…

A participatory process by which a useful costing and data management system was developed at Chapman College is described. The system summarizes information on instructional workloads, class sizes, and the costs per student credit hour for academic programs. Costs incurred in other areas to support each program are included. (Editor/LBH)