This report summarizes the major activities and findings to date of the Career Ladders Research and Evaluation Project with respect to the five-year pilot-test currently underway in Arizona. Summary descriptions are given of each year's activities from 1985 to 1989: (1) development and planning for program evaluation; (2) application of research…

Briefly describes the content, organization, and multiple influences on the 4-H program in relation to a national program evaluation. Discusses influences of the sponsors and evaluators on the evaluation and problems encountered because of competing values and perceptions. Reviews evaluation findings and speculates on the utilization of the…

This study attempted to identify efforts to evaluate programs for gifted and talented students in 122 Texas school districts and to compare these practices with those recommended in the literature and with Texas Education Association guidelines. Areas examined included informal and formal assessment of student and teacher identification practices,…

As part of the evaluation study of the Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program of the National Institute of Education (NIE), researchers interviewed 14 educational policy makers in the federal Department of Education, in the NIE, and on congressional committee staffs to discover their reactions to preliminary RDU findings. The four…

Linking Outcomes to Organizational Planning (LOOP) was initiated during the 1984-85 school year in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. LOOP was designed to ensure that evaluation, research, and informal findings became part of the instructional planning loop; to provide information to the Superintendent on progress toward priorities…

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…

How can Title I evaluations be improved so that they are more likely to increase the impact of evaluation data on informed actions within the schools? An examination of evaluation practice leads to the conclusion that most LEA practitioners view Title I evaluation as externally imposed and primarily designed to serve state and federal needs. A…

Answers criticisms by Mary Anne Bunda, Ernest House, and Mary Kennedy. Discusses, among other issues, legal authorization for the use of higher quality evaluation designs and the use of evaluation research results. (GC)

Traditional needs assessments strategies are inadequate today. Today's needs assessment involves determining problems, priorities, opportunities, and learning needs before making decisions about professional development. Four questions to guide discussions on needs assessment include whether it was planned collaboratively, whether multiple sources…

The difficulties of putting the findings of an evaluation into practice in a city school district are discussed with two emphases: the number and variety of the demands on the time and attention of the superintendent and administrative staff, and the complexity and detailed work required to implement a new or revised program. A hypothetical, but…

In a simulated adversary-advocacy evaluation of a computer-assisted school guidance program, the evaluation audience's reaction to different forms of data, the order of argument presentations, and the rated attitude of the evaluator are shown to influence audience agreement with evaluation recommendations. (CM)

To give an overview of the National Institute of Education's Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program, this report summarizes the program's goals, structure, and evaluation study and discusses the educational policy issues the program seeks to answer. Designed to enhance local school improvement efforts in the areas of basic skills and…

Describes Research In Teacher Education (RITE), a staff development model that uses school district staff to train teachers and that identifies effective teaching and staff development practices. Information is presented on the model's characteristics and implementation, research contributing to the model, a field test, and San Diego's adoption of…

Reviews the process employed in evaluating the national 4-H program. Holds that the evaluation design was influenced by political, rather than methodological, concerns. Takes examples from the 4-H evaluation to illustrate dilemmas that have emerged in current evaluation process and theory. (Author/GC)