The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), a unit within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is responsible for advising the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families on increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of programs to improve the economic and social well-being of children and families. In collaboration…

Discusses the process of conducting a summative evaluation, characteristics of evaluators, and choice of assessment techniques. (SK)

The choice of methods is part of the overall evaluation design process. The process consists of the following steps: (1) analyzing the problem context; (2) asking a few general questions; (3) selecting the methods (strategies) to use; and (4) selecting the specific techniques (tactics) to use. To operate successfully the evaluator needs to know…

Personnel at Saint Louis University's Department of Education have been theorizing, researching, and enlarging an approach to program evaluation that focuses heavily on the place of values in making judgments. This work originally stemmed from general curriculum evaluative theory developed by James H. McElhinney and Richard C. Kunkel. The content…

The checklists, tips, and examples will help persons involved with youth participation projects demonstrate the impact of a project. They will also help check for project strengths and weaknesses. Including the introduction, there are seven chapters. Chapter 2, "How Should Your Evaluation Look?" discusses what questions should be asked,…

Four evaluation methods for determining educational policy are objectivism; subjectivism; emotive-imperative; and instrumentalism. For the objectivist, the rationale for undertaking an evaluation is based on empirical verification or non-verification of claims of existing policies or activities. Secondly, the objectivist is interested in…

During May of 1985, an external audit team was engaged by the Lorain (Ohio) City Schools to assess implementation of the seven correlates of an effective school. The correlates, developed by the Ohio State Department of Education, included: (1) a sense of mission; (2) strong building leadership; (3) high expectations for all students and staff;…

The Tennessee Career Ladder Evaluation system, which uses a multiple data source approach to assessment, was developed to identify excellent teachers. It is used to determine whether or not the teacher should receive increasing career benefits. Evaluation data are generated by three evaluators, the teacher candidate, the school principal, three…

Designed for use by institutions at the postsecondary level, this program evaluation package contains instructions for planning and implementing an evaluation program, instruments for obtaining information from key sources, and procedures for their use. Covered in the individual chapters are the following topics: an overview of evaluation…

The Cooperative Assessment of Experiential Learning (CAEL) Project involves Educational Testing Service and some 250 member institutions. The purpose of the project is to develop procedures and materials that will be useful in strengthening the assessment of experiential learning in higher education. This report describes extensive findings that…