Educational discourse is becoming increasingly globalized. This trend is particularly pronounced in the area of assessment, where notions of accountability, comparability, and competition have become prevalent in many countries. Scholars have critiqued this trend. They contend that global assessment discourse provides educators with…

New Jersey consistently ranks as one of the top-performing states in the country when it comes to education. Most recently, it was ranked third in the nation. A look at the state's standards in any subject shows the state works diligently to vertically align standards while also challenging students in order to better prepare them for the future…

This study examined how hierarchical positions within the global field of higher education influence the selection of strategic priorities by universities in different parts of the world. The study particularly focused on universities' commitment to third missions as reflected in their strategic plans and compared to their global rankings. The…

Describes the scope of evaluation efforts of the Even Start family literacy program to date, summarizing the evaluation strategies, rationale, intended audience, and findings. Discusses the different lenses offered by evaluation at state and local levels. (SLD)

This paper presents an evaluation of the National Network of Eisenhower Regional Consortia and Clearinghouse. A symposium presentation was chosen to report the consortia's contribution to the improvement of mathematics and science education. The presentation is divided into four sections, each of which was presented separately by one of the panel…

Describes a state agency's approach to developing and improving the self-assessment and accountability of local programs overseen and funded by a large statewide program. This self-assessment approach to evaluating local tobacco control programs in California is "empowerment evaluation" in action. (SLD)

Describes the evaluation of the Fighting Back initiative, in which communities across the country receive funding to combat alcohol and drug use. The evaluation has been designed to be responsive to national policy agendas and local community contextual differences so that it yields important insights at both levels. (Author/SLD)

Describes a strategy for selecting a delivery method for electronic resources based on experiences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Considers local conditions, pricing, feature options, hardware costs, and network availability and presents a model for evaluating the decision based on dollar requirements and local issues. (Author/LRW)

The assertion that evaluation has become institutionalized at state and local levels to a much greater degree than is commonly understood is supported by a discussion of trends in evaluation. Evidence is presented that evaluation plays an increasingly important informational role as the level of evaluation becomes more local. (SLD)

Two issues in the Holtzman Project bear examination and reconsideration: (1) the recommendation for the use of field experiments as an exclusive "authorized" evaluation design, and (2) the focus on the needs of the federal client, and the apparent lack of concern for clients at the state and local levels. (GC)

This guide is intended to assist states and service delivery areas (SDAs) in addressing the new oversight responsibilities and opportunities stipulated by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). The first section examines the objectives and outcomes of the project to develop this and the other eight JTPA evaluation guides in the series. A listing…

This report on Phase III, of a four-phase study, provides an analysis of the impact of California Technology Assistance Programs. The first section of this report provides the background of the California Educational Technology Assessment Project (CETAP), an overview of programs studied, and a summary of the evaluation plan. Sections two and three…

Based on a compilation of concepts and materials from various sources, this manual outlines a systems approach to the evaluation of local vocational education programs. Local evaluation is viewed as a team effort by those responsible for improvement in the system and is to be carried out as a continuous process. Major sections of the manual are:…

Local public officials may be confronted with the use of economic multipliers when asked to react to project proposals, to environmental impact statements, or to other studies containing economic impact analyses. Employment, income, and output multipliers are tools for estimating private sector economic impacts of a new development within a local…