This handbook is designed to help beginning evaluators of teacher recruitment programs. It addresses the information and assessment needs of teacher recruitment programs. It takes a hands-on approach and includes worksheets and instructions for using them. After presenting tips for getting started, the handbook offers eight steps to successful…

Describes a model used by Michigan school districts, in collaboration with Michigan State University, in ongoing program- improvement efforts. The model is intended to help physical education leaders systematically address assessment of core program objectives, collect accurate data that directly affects instruction, then aggregate the data and…

The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) was developed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in the 1960s and 1970s to be the recognized international standard for reporting and interpreting education program data. Creating a U.S. crosswalk to this system has been a goal of research…

This paper reports on the use of teacher-written "cases" as evaluation data sources. Cases are first hand, candid, dramatic, highly readable accounts of events or a series of events in teaching. Eight teaching cases were collected which had been written by new teachers who graduated from the Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation…

Examines the politics that arise in the research and evaluation of school reform efforts, drawing on qualitative data from a study of comprehensive school reform to elucidate methodological issues in several areas; discussing how the researchers were perceived, how participants used researchers' research and presence in political ways, and how…

While the "Standards for Evaluations of Educational Programs, Projects and Materials" provides a good checklist of prerequisites, such standards do not guarantee indisputable outcomes. Reanalysis of reading comprehension and mathematics mean achievement data from an international evaluation study illustrates how political bias can…

Power analysis of studies in Greene's meta-analysis of bilingual education programs found that many studies of the past 30 years were statistically weak and uninterpretable. Effect size analysis of Thomas and Collier's 15-year study found that their longitudinal model best explains 30 years of bilingual education research and can serve as a…

This guide presents ways for practitioners to use Chapter 1 achievement data to better understand and evaluate elements of a Chapter 1 program. A variety of types and levels of questions can be addressed with achievement data. Combining standardized achievement test scores with data from the program and from the regular classroom greatly increases…

Many social workers are anxious about the use of evaluation techniques and are particularly reticent about using statistical research. Strategies for understanding the steps involved in integrating practice and evaluation in a school social work setting, an appreciation for the need of evaluation, and knowledge of various resources on conducting…

Evaluators usually assume that the data they receive are valid, or at least, that the data reflect that which is being evaluated. In a recent evaluation in a large southern school district, evaluators compared their raw interview notes with interview notes edited by the teachers interviewed or project staff. The program evaluated was Project SEED,…

This discussion of collaboration between general and special educators focuses on selection of instructional interventions in mainstream settings and curriculum-based methods of evaluating programs designed to increase the academic performance of students with and without disabilities. It then suggests ways to incorporate data-based decision…

Data from nine Michigan elementary, middle, and high schools highlight the challenges and common strategies found in the use of student assessment data to meet public demands for accountability. The information gathered from assessment tools varies by frequency and type. Educators have, historically, underutilized data to guide practice because…

Concept mapping is a structured conceptualization that can be used by groups to develop a conceptual framework that guides evaluation or planning. Twelve papers discuss concept mapping in evaluation/planning in terms of theory development; measurement, construct validity, and pattern matching; outcome assessment and internal validity;…

In 1981, the developers of a school-based change effort engaged researchers to conduct an evaluation study employing qualitative methodology that would provide the developers with information that could be used to improve the program. Resource constraints, short timelines, and the developers' preference for useable information encouraged…

A consensus has emerged in recent years that the fragmented systems serving children and families need to be restructured and integrated in ways that make them accessible, family-focused, and able to accommodate cultural differences. Collaborative partnerships involving schools, families, and other community stakeholders are learning that they are…