This paper reviews evaluations of social programs and major approaches to program evaluation. Its purpose is to examine the roles that philosophy, ideology, key audiences, preferred methods, and typical evaluation questions can play in the practices of contemporary evaluators. The report describes the Learning Connections Projects, a program that…

Findings of a study that evaluated the Spencerport, New York, "More Effective Schools/Teaching Project" and examined the project's validation process are presented in this paper. The program model was based on change at the individual school level, administrator/staff collegiality, comprehensive interventions based on school culture, and…

Four influential studies on school effectiveness reported by Brookover and Lezotte (1979), Edmonds and Frederiksen (1979), Phi Delta Kappa (1980), and Rutter and others (1979) are limited in their usefulness as recipes for creating effective schools by the following four issues: (1) The four studies differ in their definition of what…

Examines public debate over private education in the context of the Hollywood dramatic feature film. Analyses four recent films that all portray private schools negatively. Film representation of public schools is more optimistic. Asserts that the films ignore or misrepresent three strengths of private education: effective leadership, small school…

An overview of accountability in public education is presented in this publication. Contents include a review of recent accountability efforts, an outline of a comprehensive accountability model, an analysis of accountability strategies, and a discussion of means for incorporating system indicators into the larger systemic framework. A conclusion…