In this commentary, we examine Braverman's insights into the trade-offs between feasibility and rigor in evaluation measures and reject his assessment of the trade-off as a zero-sum game. We, argue that feasibility and policy salience are, like reliability and validity, intrinsic to the definition of a good measure. To reduce the tension between…

Higher education experts tout learning outcomes assessment as a vehicle for program improvement. To this end the authors share a rubric designed explicitly to evaluate the quality of assessment and how it leads to program improvement. The rubric contains six general assessment areas, which are further broken down into 14 elements. Embedded within…

One part of the work being done at the Center for the Study of Evaluation has been the development of kits to assist the staffs of elementary schools wishing to conduct evaluations. The third kit in the series provides specific techniques for conducting a formative evaluation, which includes verifying the extent to which a program has been…

Flexner's report on the procedures, agents, and effects of medical school accreditation emphasizes common sense and unstructured observation, rather than objective social science. Flexner would probably declare that lay people, rather than the National Education Association or the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, should…

Whether initiated by law, regulation, or administrative direction, evaluations have political purposes. Improvement, the classic purpose of evaluation, is most faithfully observed when the importance, funding, and constituency of a program are small. If something is wrong, or if the program's existence is threatened, evaluation can become a weapon…

A number of ways in which evaluations may be biased are illustrated: (1) policy and political purposes for evaluations; (2) sources of policy or political bias prior to evaluation activities; (3) limitations and biases within the evaluation itself; and (4) utilization of evaluation information in the policy process. (Author/GK)

This report describes a project undertaken at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) between January 1, 1982 and March 31, 1984, which was designed to increase the use in program assessment and in program improvement of information derived from measures of: (1) student achievement in general education; (2) student achievement in the major…

Involving producing, analyzing, and using information, evaluation is the central discipline of the information age. Both traditional criteria for good evaluation and standards formulated in 1981 prescribe evaluations that are useful, practical, ethical, and accurate. The burning question in evaluation is the utilization of information for…

Four problems underlying the delivery of technical assistance in Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I evaluation are discussed: (1) the dual missions of facilitating the implementation of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System and of facilitating the local use of evaluation information frequently require tradeoffs between…

The document presents the final report of a study to develop an evaluation design capable of aiding local agencies in measuring the effectiveness of their school-based, K-12, career education programs. Chapter 1 discusses the problem area examined and includes a summary, objectives, rationale, and limitations of the study as well as a definition…

Following a brief history of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (TIERS) and the development of the RMC models and technical assistance centers, plans are described for activities to increase the usefulness of the evaluation data for local decision making. Three major kinds of activities are explained: projects developed by an Evaluation…

This guide for improving the quality of National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS) data through improved data collection and training is intended for local providers and state administrators. Chapter 1 explains the guide's purpose, contents, and use and defines the following components of data quality: objectivity; integrity;…

This handbook on locally directed evaluation (LDE) is designed as a practical guide for vocational and other school administrators to use in initiating or improving evaluation activities carried out at the local level. It is divided into seven sections. Each section includes an evaluation instrument, the purpose of the evaluation activity, and…