Background: Evaluation is a tool that can promote accountability and enhance organizational improvement. For these reasons funding entities from government to foundations are increasingly relying on program evaluation as a key instrument to determine effectiveness and hold recipient organizations accountable. What has ensued is an environment of…

Surveyed academics for the impact of Britain's Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), an assessment and funding mechanism, on their research behavior. Compared results to an earlier study (McNay, 1997) for significant differences. Found that the RAE time scale and the perceived preferences of RAE panel members are increasingly influencing choice of…

This report presents recommendations to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to guide it in assessing its initiatives in science education. The report outlines appropriate goals, procedures, arrangements, and resources necessary to establish an effective set of assessment practices that build on existing assessment activities in the Foundation,…

In supporting science education, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is, in some instances, funding the enrichment experiences of individual students, but more often it is supporting efforts to improve complex, decentralized education systems. Many feel that the Foundation's best chance for success lies in a grant support strategy that targets…

This project is concerned with the development of procedures and plans for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to use in assessing its initiatives on an ongoing basis. This work is meant to complement another review of NSF's investment opportunities by estabishing a sound basis for designing and carrying out assessments aimed at any of the…