Many early care and education (ECE) institutions--including Head Start, state quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS), and school district pre-K programs--use classroom quality observations in their quality improvement or monitoring processes. As many states expand their ECE programs, they grapple with questions about how best to use data…

The federal role in higher education has grown over the past two decades, and now a new administration has the opportunity to strengthen policies that support students and their colleges and universities. To help inform these decisions, the Urban Institute convened a bipartisan group of scholars and policy advisers to write a series of memos…

Enumerates different ways federal regulatory and legislative actions affect higher education as a business, social, and educational enterprise. Challenges the postsecondary community, particularly its associations, to carefully monitor legislation, alert institutions, share information, and take a united stand on important issues. (JT)

To enable decision makers to become more aware of the levels of confidence that can be placed in the results of particular computerized decision models, methods for establishing confidence levels are discussed. The U.S. General Accounting Office has developed criteria and review procedures for evaluating computerized policy analysis models.…

Based on a case study of the formulation and enactment of the Education Amendments of 1972, an analysis of the federal policy-making process for higher education is presented to provide the academic community a realistic perspective on federal action. Includes discussion of the policy arena, sources of policy options, and pluralistic…

Evaluation in education has come to be seen as an essential ingredient in educational decision making. Decisions to be made by educators cover a wide spectrum, varying according to the role of the teacher, principal, and superintendent. Education is essentially discussed at the Federal level and the nature of surveys, which is the sole efficient…

To inform researchers and provide guidance to policy-makers inside and outside government who participate in federal decision-making affecting children, a study was conducted under the auspices of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families. Specific objectives of the study were (1) to develop a better understanding of how federal policies…

The comprehensive evaluation of the effects and results of the federal program implementing Title I of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) described in this summary report found that, in general, the program has contributed significantly to the development and provision of public library services. However, public libraries are…

Five different program evaluations were described to indicate those qualities which make an evaluation effective or not effective. Evaluation effectiveness was defined as impact on decision making or long-term policy formation, and influence upon a variety of audiences. Robert D. Matz described the First Chance Project, and concluded that the…

This paper discusses public policy implications of viewing day care as a support service to families. The paper begins with a presentation of various rationales to justify government involvement in day care services, several possible roles to be played by government (direct subsidy, delivery of services, regulation), and a generalized government…

During the Johnson Administration the Presidency remained centrally involved in the education policy system. The usual flow of demands from the field and the education associations, through Congress and USOE, continued. However, the innovativeness which the President sought could not be obtained, so it was believed, if the bureaucracy remained the…

This study presents a detailed evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of Title I of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), a federal program designed to assist state efforts to develop and improve public libraries, and examines the policy implications of these results as they relate to the future of federal involvement in public…

Examines the organizational and political context of decisions directly related to the fate of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) from 1980 to 1992. This decision-making environment is then analyzed in terms of political values, structures, and strategies. (Contains 59 references.) (Author/KRN)

Discusses a study conducted by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) which examined the federally funded research system and the role of data for decision making in research policy. Highlights include data needs; research expenditures and personnel; the research process; measuring the outcomes of research; and the research evaluation process.…