The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evaluates research studies that look at the effectiveness of education programs, products, practices, and policies, which the WWC calls "interventions." Many studies of education interventions make claims about impacts on students' outcomes. Some studies have designs that enable readers to make causal…

In most large-scale assessments of student achievement, several broad content domains are tested. Because more items are needed to cover the content domains than can be presented in the limited testing time to each individual student, multiple test forms or booklets are utilized to distribute the items to the students. The construction of an…

This discussion was presented at a symposium organized to study the usage of systematic research, development, diffusion, and evaluation (RDD&E) strategies being used in the establishment of RDD&E training programs. Three levels of exploring these programs are suggested: looking at specific RDD&E projects, allowing the Research Training Branch of…

Describes reasons for doing a needs assessment, proper procedure for completing a needs assessment, and what should be done after a needs assessment is completed. (RK)

The two subjects of this paper are: (1) the development of the training consortia concept, and (2) the process employed during three visits to evaluate each of three training consortia now in operation. The training consortia have as their goal the training of personnel to work as members of collaborative teams in the areas of educational…

A framework is presented for the programming of research within the context of the objectives of the Foundation for Educational Research (SVO) in the Netherlands. The memorandum is divided into three sections. Section one deals with the actual initiative leading to programming. In the second section the framework is sketched in which the…

Considered the preparation of educational personnel and the policies that will affect teacher education. (RK)

This paper reviews analyses undertaken by four separate persons to examine the problems and goals of education and to suggest program priorities for the initial years of the National Institute of Education. The document describes the consensus concerning goals and the manner in which the different analyses move from goals to a list of programs.…

An outline of the nature of the timetabling problem, suggesting the kind of requirements that arise in practice and the criteria used to evaluate timetables, was presented. (Author/RK)

Education is too complex, multidimensional, and poorly understood to lend itself to a single cost/effectiveness criterion. Rather, analysts in the educational field seek to rank alternatives by their effectiveness, report separately on the cost implications, and leave the tradeoffs to the decisionmaker's judgment. In this context, a program is any…

Experienced observers of student teachers support strongly the need for a close, continuing relationship between student teacher and supervisor and suggest that colleges need to reassess their priorities when assigning staff to supervision of student teachers in a competency based teacher education program. (JD)

This document provides information about the development of a quality control procedure that adds a new capability to program management. The procedure, the Standardized Educational Program Audit (SEPA), is being developed by the Florida Department of Education for use with Elementary Secondary Education Act Title III development projects. This…

Reports findings from recent studies conducted on effectiveness of school information systems (SIS) and recommends strategies for well-structured evaluations that attend to key factors (relative to system implementation and use) that affect all schools-regardless of their size and organization. (Author/AEF)

Discusses ways to evaluate proposals for change in the educational system. Outlines three principles to guide in the planning and organization of educational change projects: (1) Base policy and practice on proven practice and research; (2) Support the creation of professional learning communities; (3) Use diffusion principles to support adoption…

Presented to the American Education Research Association, this speech points out eleven ways examination of a National Institute of Education study plan could have implications for vocational education: (1) defining key terms, (2) identifying or surfacing issues, (3) describing recent or impending changes, (4) summarizing findings, (5) integrating…