In this article, Julia So discusses the purpose of program assessment, four common missteps of program assessment and reporting, and how to prevent them. The four common missteps of program assessment and reporting she has observed are: (1) unclear or ambiguous program goals; (2) measurement error of program goals and outcomes; (3) incorrect unit…

Evaluators are becoming increasingly aware that, to provide maximum benefit to the programs they evaluate, they must address the systems within which the programs work. However, evaluation practice is often influenced by beliefs and assumptions that are rooted in an understanding of these systems as stable and predictable. We identify four traps…

Dr. Hal Abeles is a foundational leader in developing music performance assessments, conducting program evaluations of arts partnerships, and publishing basic research on the effects of arts instruction on learning in and across cognitive, social and personal domains. This article explores the theoretical and practical issues in music performance…

Assessment has become increasingly integral to college and university accreditation. While formal assessment has become more of a responsibility for instructors as related to their individual classes and assignments, program assessment is also at the center of these conversations. However, few guidelines and resources are being shared with regard…

STEM education has received increasing attention in recent years. However, developing valid and reliable assessment of interdisciplinary learning in STEM has been a challenge. This study is a comprehensive review of assessment of interdisciplinary STEM education during the last two decades. A total of 49 empirical research articles were collected…

Among faculty, assessment is frequently discussed as an added burden that does little to improve student learning, existing to appease administrators and accreditors. In fact, at one of the author's institutions, a faculty listserv post argued that assessment was a corporate and political move to standardize all education and destroy faculty…

Objective: This study seeks to determine the nature of current program evaluation practices for learning assistance centers (LACs), the practices being used for program evaluation, and whether LAC directors believe their practices are appropriate for evaluating program effectiveness. Method: We conducted a survey (n = 61) of community college LAC…

International scholarship programs for higher education attract a substantial body of funding each year from national governments, supranational bodies, large charitable foundations, higher education institutions, and many smaller organizations. With aims variously shaped by international development and public diplomacy considerations,…

High-quality, evidence-based professional development is essential to ensure that teachers obtain the knowledge, strategies and skills necessary to positively impact student learning. While the primary form of professional development, training has rarely been evaluated for quality beyond the satisfaction of those being trained. The Observation…

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2018 through 2022 describes the focus and direction of OIG's operations over the next five years, establishes their organizational goals, and outlines the strategies they will employ to reach those goals and the measures they will use to…

Teaching practices within educational institutions have evolved through the increased adoption of technology to deliver the curriculum and the use of computers for assessment purposes. For educational technologists, there is a vast array of commercial computer applications available for the delivery of objective tests, and in some instances,…

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the pedagogy courses of teacher education programs implemented in two universities in Turkey and the USA in terms of multicultural education. The teaching practices in the pedagogy courses of teacher education programs in the USA might have multicultural education principles, and they could be models…

Traditionally, evaluation has primarily tried to answer the question "Does a program, service, or policy work?" Recently, more attention is given to questions about variation in program effects and the mechanisms through which program effects occur. Addressing these kinds of questions requires moving beyond assessing average program…

Nonprofit organizations are under great pressure to use evaluations to show that their programs "work" and that they are "effective." However, empirical evidence indicates that nonprofits struggle to perform useful evaluations, especially when conducted under accountability pressures. An increasing body of evidence highlights…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs in out-of-school time (OST) are designed to supplement school work, ignite student interest, and extend STEM learning. From interactive museum exhibits to summer-long science camps, opportunities for informal student engagement in STEM learning abound. The differences these programs…