The Algebra Project DR K-12, funded by the National Science Foundation as a Research and Development Project, addressed the challenge of offering significant STEM content for students to ensure public literacy and workforce readiness. The project's primary purpose was to test the feasibility and effectiveness of a model for establishing four-year…

The final report details accomplishments of a New York City demonstration program to train handicapped students to travel independently on public transportation. It is explained that three major objectives were attained: five new replicators were identified during each of 3 years, replicators followed the program description, and replicators…

The implications of the lessons learned through an evaluability assessment (EA) of the Title II Basic Skills Improvement Program (BSIP) for State Education Agency (SEA) support of model demonstration programs are discussed. The purposes, methodology and uses of the EA process are presented. Also included is a discussion of the details of the…

A third wave of school reform, originating in the United States, has arrived in the Pacific region. The first wave, which occurred in the 1980s, resulted in increased teacher salaries, core-subject requirements, and an expanded academic calendar. The second wave led to improved teaching conditions, with greater emphasis on professional development…

The report summarizes evaluation findings on the Learning Centre, a research and demonstration centre of the Calgary Society for Students with Learning Difficulties. The report addresses evaluation of formal research projects (on such topics as instrumental enrichment with low achieving adolescents); pilot projects (such as an animation film…

A plan has been initiated in Georgia to ensure that project directors and evaluators are cognizant of and organized to meet criteria specified in the Identification, Validation, and Dissemination (IVD) guidelines. The evaluation/validation process involves eight steps: (1) evaluator training, (2) proposal screening, (3) critique of evaluation…

In early 1994, Central Falls, Rhode Island's Kids First, a collaborative partnership between the Central Falls School Department and local community leaders, launched a pilot universally-free school breakfast program (UF-SBP) called "Operation Breakfast." One of the goals of Operation Breakfast was to improve SBP participation; school…

The state validation process in New York identifies promising practices developed through the Elementary Secondary Education Act Title IV-C funding. The new validation procedures included in this handbook are revised to: (1) make the evaluation process easier to apply; (2) provide technical assistance in evaluating the project; (3) extend…

The purpose of this paper is to review some of the methods used for the impact evaluation of Demonstrator-Developer projects and to promote the meta-analysis approach. Four examples of attempts to collect and analyze impact data from adopters are presented, one of which used the meta-analysis approach. In this example, each adopter collected pre…

A procedure was developed for on-site evaluation of replications of exemplary programs that emphasized the replication of the functions accomplished rather than the processes performed. Program functions are defined as operational purposes. A functional analysis begins with identifying program components; describing them fully; and then listing…

Selecting programs, textbooks, and curriculum materials is one of the most important decisions educators make. An Expert Panel on Mathematics and Science was established by the U.S. Department of Education to develop a high-quality, research-based process for selecting programs and to use that selecting process to identify exemplary and promising…

The Kentucky Department of Education has developed the merit rating as a means of providing special recognition to middle school and high school curricular areas that are of superior quality. When a school wishes an area of the curriculum to be considered for a merit rating, the principal requests an evaluation; an evaluation team is selected and…

The accomplishments of the first year of project FOCUS, one of five national demonstration efforts funded under the Women's Educational Equity Act, are presented. There are four parts to the report. Part 1 gives an overview of the project. After conducting a needs assessment, the Tucson (Arizona) Unified School District undertook four central…

Using a framework that draws upon current organizational theory and assumptions about knowledge utilization and school improvement this report examines the process of change at the school level. The model developed attempts both to categorize the "strategies" employed by the Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program/projects and…

Based on two papers presented at the American Educational Research Association meeting in 1981, this report provides an overview and major outcomes of a three-year study of the Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program. The RDU program tested and assessed a comprehensive model for assisting schools to use results of educational research…