This evaluation, which focuses on the capacity-building mission of the Comprehensive Centers, was designed to add to the findings of the previous national evaluation of the Comprehensive Centers Program. That evaluation, completed in 2011, used survey data, structured interviews, and rating scales to analyze the extent to which State Education…

In experimental evaluations of health and social programs, the role of dosage is rarely explored because researchers cannot usually randomize individuals to experience varying dosage levels. Instead, such evaluations reveal the average effects of exposure to an intervention, although program exposure may vary widely. This article compares three…

Since the first child care Quality Rating System (QRS) was implemented in Oklahoma 11 years ago (in 1998), 16 additional statewide systems have been launched and numerous states are piloting or developing a QRS (Zaslow, Tout, & Martinez-Beck, forthcoming). As QRS stakeholders across the nation look ahead to the next decade, it is important to take…

Congress authorized Follow Through in 1967 under the Economic Opportunity Act to provide developmental and educational services for poor children in primary grades who had experienced Head Start or equivalent pre-school. A large scale service program was envisioned originally. Appropriations were not sufficient, however, so Follow Through was…

National education programs should incorporate evaluation as an integral part of program development. (CK)

The concept of accountability in education has two primary concerns: the responsibility to provide effective educational programs and the responsibility to employ efficiently the resources allocated for this purpose. These concerns are fundamental to an evaluation procedure based on the principle of accountability. The establishment in 1967 of new…

This handbook has been designed to assist personnel within the Chicago Public Schools to assess the operation of their government funded programs, make certain that these programs are being implemented in accordance with the design as funded, and that they are in compliance with appropriate legislation and guidelines. The handbook establishes a…

A summary of the final report analyzing the Federal Bonding Program includes an overview, historical summary and analysis, summary of findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The bonding program provides fidelity bonding for individuals who are normally excluded from insurance policy bonding, including ex-offenders, enabling them to work at…

Regulations pertaining to project design of Title IV Indian Education Act projects are described in this guide. In addition to being helpful and giving each project a standard format to follow, the guide also includes examples of required and suggested forms. Each of the seven components of program design (needs, goals, objectives, activities,…

The first author set out to design and secure funding for an hypothesis-based program in a public school setting. The natural history of what happened to that study as it proceeded from design, to funding, to actual implementation, to final reporting serves as the case history of two idealistic evaluators' wildest nightmares. (Author)

A study compared practice-level variables between two sites that have been implementing system-of-care (SOC) principles for at least 5 years and two traditional service systems. Overall, SOC sites scored significantly higher than non-SOC sites in the child-centered and family-focused, community-based, and cultural competence domains. (Contains…

A needs assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is presented. It deals with cost, design and technical issues, and utility. Suggestions include cost reduction via assessment schedule cutbacks and re-use of released NAEP exercises; and a shift from federal to private funding by selling NAEP exercises with interpretative…

This document presents the following eight-component framework of the Commission on Chapter 1 for restructuring the Chapter 1 program: (1) have states set clear, high standards for all students; (2) devise new systems for schools to assess progress toward standards; (3) inform parents about how well their children are progressing toward standards…

This handbook offers extensive guidance in evaluating programs under the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994, particularly bilingual education programs under Title VII. It is divided into five sections. The first provides an overview of the handbook and some useful definitions. The second section provides background information about and…

The Low Socioeconomic Status and Minority Student Achievement Study is designed to investigate the overall impact of the Austin Independent School District's programs on low socioeconomic status (SES) and minority students' achievement and school leaver rates. This evaluation is designed to monitor low SES and minority student achievement on…