In 2012, the American Evaluation Association (AEA) added community psychology (CP) to its roster of topical interests groups (TIG). One of the highlights of the CP TIG program at the 2012 AEA Conference and the genesis of this "American Journal of Evaluation" Forum was a panel of accomplished community psychologists and evaluation…

This essay explores the implications of the zeitgeist that emerged in the United States during the 1960s for the conceptualization of ethical issues in evaluation and community psychology, and how perspectives from the latter field might enhance ethical practice in the former. Special attention is paid to articulations of social justice,…

The quality of classrooms serving students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD) is a continuing concern because of its influence on students' educational outcomes. Program evaluation of classrooms for students with EBD has been a recommended practice for many years since Grosenick, George, and George (1987) conducted their…

This article describes an initiative to evaluate the impact of educational psychologists' (EPs') casework. Previous studies have often focussed on evaluating processes or reducing outcomes to measurable units. The authors argue that qualitative research methods can be used to illuminate EP effectiveness. They describe a real world and…

With the growing emphasis on accountability and evidence-based practice, evaluation has become increasingly important in the contexts in which educational psychologists (EPs) practice. This paper describes a Target Monitoring and Evaluation (TME) system, derived from Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) which was developed to evaluate outcomes of a wide…

Although the need for evaluation of prevention programs is clear, the implementation of evaluation, particularly for large, complex projects with multiple investigators, poses numerous challenges. Program evaluators in these circumstances do not have the same degree of control as, say, experimental psychologists and must find ways to obtain data…

This paper discusses some ways a psychologist carrying out evaluation within a school system can design evaluation studies to maximize the usefulness of the results. A format and procedure for designs based on providing information for decision making are presented. Examples of the experiences of one internal office are discussed. (Author)

This article describes adversary evaluation and explains its use in evaluation of school-based programs by school psychologists. The authors discuss the history of adversary evaluation, the various models that have been used, and major research findings. Three diverse examples of adversary evaluation are presented, along with criteria for…

The movement toward evidence-based interventions (EBI) in school psychology places new expectations on scientist-practitioners for evaluating intervention effectiveness (Kratochwill & Stoiber, 2000, 2002). Many such interventions in the school context are conducted for individual students, requiring single case designs. In this paper we provide…

Defensible evaluation designs must take into account the impossibility of random assignment and reduced options for the use of control groups. In addition, there are numerous pressures on the construction and development of measuring devices and a need for ingenuity in performing statistical analysis. This article explicates these issues. (Author)

Reviews the research on vocational assessment instruments for evaluating the mentally retarded and suggests that school psychologists, vocational educators, and special educators can work effectively in developing procedures for meaningful evaluation of the mentally retarded students. (Editor/CT)

School psychologists are being required to evaluate educational programs. This paper discusses the role and responsibilities of a program evaluator, the problems of measurement, and the staff fear of evaluation. A model for program evaluation is then described with an illustrative example. (Author)

With its roots in clinical and educational psychology, school psychology is an ever-changing field that encompasses a diversity of topics. "The Oxford Handbook of School Psychology" synthesizes the most vital and relevant literature in all of these areas, producing a state-of-the-art, authoritative resource for practitioners,…

A case study method was used to assess teacher satisfaction with school psychology services delivery based upon results of a questionnaire. Teachers' evaluation of school psychology services may be more accurate when reporting on recent specific cases than on psychological services in general. (DWH)