The evaluation theory tree typology reflects the following three components of evaluation practice: (a) methods, (b) use, and (c) valuing. The purpose of this study was to explore how evaluation practice is conceived as reflected in articles published in the "American Journal of Evaluation" ("AJE") and "Evaluation," a…

In the original paper, it was argued that while there is an array of methods and methodologies available, their use is delimited by the culture of accountability that prevails in public sector institutions, a fact that is particularly problematic given the complexity and diversity of evaluation contexts today. This short rejoinder, to responses…

In music education, current attention to student-centered approaches for learning affects our understanding of student assessment. This view to curriculum reform requires new perspectives for assessment. There is a need to move beyond the summative use of assessment to assign grades to examining the roles of assessment in supporting and enhancing…

Assessment is a complex function requiring an understanding of student learning, assessment principles, practices, and purposes of data to implement effective classroom assessment. The purpose of this study was to add to the growing base of knowledge about teachers' engagement with assessment data and their motivation for classroom assessment.…

The formula is simple: Highly effective teachers equal student academic success. Yet, the physics of American education is anything but. Thus, the question facing education reformers is how can teacher effectiveness be accurately measured in order to improve the teacher workforce? Given the demand for objective, quantitative measures of teacher…

This article chronicles the evolution of a large research extensive institution's General Education writing assessment efforts from an initial summative focus to a formative, improvement focus. The methods of assessment, which changed as the assessment purpose evolved, are described. As more data were collected, the measurement tool was…

This article summarizes critical evaluation needs, challenges, and lessons learned in translational research. Evaluation can play a key role in enhancing successful application of research-based programs and tools as well as informing program refinement and future research. Discussion centers on what is unique about evaluating programs and…

Assessing educational outcomes is a matter of great importance for everyone in a society that relies primarily on public schools to shape the next generation of citizens. Given the vital nature of this task, it is imperative that the researchers who undertake it have an informed understanding of the measures used to evaluate educational outcomes.…

Evaluations of special education interventions are different from research on medical interventions. Educational evaluations would be more useful if they applied an actuarial, or probability approach. Information should be collected over time and using various measures, thus increasing the available data. (GDC)

Issues concerning students' evaluation of college faculty are discussed. Several views of this process are presented. Having identified relevant variables or paradigms, possible relationships between the variables can be studied (models and theories). The assumptions underlying these paradigms include the following: that students have a right and…

Discusses a program implemented in Wichita, Kansas, public schools to assess curricular effectiveness in music education. Expounds on the goals of the program, participants involved, problems encountered, and the eventual outcome of the evaluation. Maintains that curriculum must be organized around specific musical objectives rather than musical…

Ways to improve the validity of assessment of college students are discussed. Validity problems often have occurred because the purpose of assessment was not clear. Traditionally, college students have been tested for admission and placement. However, the results of these tests have been used for other purposes, such as comparing institutions.…

This report summarizes conclusions from previous reports and makes explicit comparisons between assessment approaches. The report is organized in four sections under the headings: Design, Content Analysis, Costs, and Analysis of Technical Quality. The first section (Design) describes salient characteristics of each assessment approach, the…

Basic issues in workplace education evaluation can be structured into five discussion questions. The first is who wants to know what information for what purpose. The "who" constitutes the program's stakeholders both at and beyond the program level. Further inquiry is then needed to determine what kind of information these stakeholders typically…

This paper presents a primer on building a scientifically oriented teacher evaluation instrument. It stresses the importance of accurate measures and accepts the presupposition that scientific approaches provide the most accurate measures of student teacher performance. The paper discusses the scientific concepts of validity and reliability, and…