The Chicago Mastery Learning Reading Program (CMLRP) discussed in this report is a method of instruction based on the mastery learning model developed by University of Chicago professor Benjamin Bloom. The report describes the procedures and results of an evaluation of the program's effects on reading achievement, information related to the…

This handbook provides step-by-step procedures through which a task force can examine a school's reading program and can define goals and objectives for the future. Charts are provided to aid in the following processes: gathering data about the population served; assessing the current reading program and assigning priorities for improvement;…

A Quality Assurance Program (QAP) developed at the College of St. Francis is presented that is based on an open systems approach. The model allows an institution to continually monitor, evaluate, and, when necessary, modify its academic programs, graduates or undergraduate, traditionally or non-traditionally delivered, to assure quality. Part I…

Levels of Use (LOU) interviews can be used for formative evaluation purposes in an intermediate education agency. Programs and services for training teachers provided to districts are evaluated. LOU interviews give program staff unique information for improving programs. Program improvement is aided by LOU interviews because information is…

In spring l977, a five-member team used the Shepard evaluation method to review the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP). The team's activities were the initial stage of a complete formative MEAP assessment. The Shepard evaluation method consists of a checklist which provides nearly 50 topics to investigate when conducting an evaluation…

A variety of special needs programs were funded by the Michigan Department of Education in 1972. Data collection instruments were developed to evaluate these programs and data were gathered. This initial effort was important in the movement toward implementation of a more sophisticated evaluation design. Specifically, the paper discussed the final…

Because of the need for a system designed to continuously evaluate State and local programs of occupational education relative to the relevancy of educational training and accountability of funds, the Illinois Three Phase System for Statewide Evaluation of Occupational Programs was formulated to evaluate both program product and program process…

Recent evaluations of manpower training claim that: (1) nonexperimental methods produce unreliable estimates of program impacts and (2) randomized experiments are necessary for reliability. National Supported Work Demonstration data are used to reexamine nonexperimental estimates of net program impact on posttraining earnings of high school…

Two studies used experimental data to evaluate nonexperimental methods of program evaluation for employment and training programs. Results of both studies indicated that the nonexperimental methods might not accurately replicate the experimental estimates. Also, new methods for constructing comparison groups yielded little improvement over…

Estimates of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act's net impact on participant earnings, using Continuous Longitudinal Manpower Survey data, were compared to a similar sample from the Current Population Survey. The use of multivariate matching and weighting yielded acceptable results. (GDC)

An evaluation form used at Ashland College (Ohio) for critical evaluation of educational software is presented. The form covers basic product information, program content, educational appropriateness, organizational and technical components, teacher's manual, and product revision. (MBR)

Although transitioning from school to school can be challenging at any level, the transition to high school may be particularly fraught with challenge because students are experiencing a change in schools as well as the physical, emotional, and psychological changes inherent to adolescence. Educators and researchers agree that ninth grade is a…

The Bureau of Evaluation, created by the Louisiana Department of Education, has established policies and procedures that ensure use of evaluation findings by both policymakers and program administrators. Information on its development, structure, mission, rationale, staffing, and operations is provided. (PN)

Evaluation research, if appropriately matched to a human service program's stage of development, can help inform the decision making at each step. The developmental stages of a program, questions to be answered at each stage, and kinds of research activities pertinent to such questions are discussed. (TJH)

Concepts of formative and process evaluation are discussed, and their applications in health promotion and disease prevention are reviewed. Process evaluation fulfills the need for information on program implementation, whereas formative evaluation aims to help develop and improve programs from an early stage. Both evaluations can increase program…