Reports on the theory-driven evaluation of a drop-in center for youth that incorporates a literature search, concept mapping with staff, and focus groups with youth. Findings show strong agreement among the three data sources about critical program components. Discusses implications of a theory-driven approach. (Author/SLD)

Presents an algorithm for integrating evaluative concerns of cost effectiveness, equity, quality, and sustainability in program evaluation and offers suggestions for refining the system of measurement and analysis. (SLD)

An important final step in the life cycles of programs and their evaluation involves assessing new programs' or innovations' sustainability. This review and synthesis of 19 empirical studies of the sustainability of American and Canadian health-related programs examines the extent of sustainability achieved and summarizes factors contributing to…

With the emphasis on the use of evidence-based practices has come a need to measure the fidelity of replications to the operations and principles of original models. Recent reviews have focused on methods to develop fidelity measures for evidence-based program models. However, the issue of how to validate such measures has been given scant…

This report outlines the national and state environmental context for the SECCS Initiative in supporting MCH strategic planning in early childhood systems building. This strategic context has implications for roles, relationships, and activities within a planning process and ultimately an implementation process. It summarizes the opportunities and…

The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project was undertaken to identify effective strategies for helping low-income parents work more steadily and advance in the labor market. The 15 ERA demonstration projects that were operating in nine states (California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, South Carolina; Tennessee, and…

Workplace mentoring has been identified as an important aspect of work-based learning in projects conducted under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. By establishing relationships with caring and competent adults who can provide emotional support and facilitate skill development, less-experienced youths and adults are more likely to bridge the…

The report provides detailed information about the methods and instruments used to evaluate school readiness initiatives, discusses important considerations in selecting instruments, and provides resources and recommendations that may be helpful to those who are designing and implementing school readiness evaluations. Study results indicate that…

Increasing demands for evidence-based early childhood services and the need by policymakers to know whether a program is effective or whether it warrants a significant investment of public and/or private funds--coupled with the often-politicized debate around these topics--make it imperative for policymakers and civic leaders to have independent…

This study explored the impact of performance assessment versus traditional paper-and-pencil assessment on graduate students' achievement and motivation to learn while enrolled in a 16-lesson course on program evaluation methods. Students in two sections of the course were exposed to the same content and instructional methods, with one exception:…

In consultation with experts in the fields of education research and whole school improvement, researchers at the Comprehensive School Reform Quality (CSRQ) Center created a framework for evaluating the scientific rigor of research studies that report on the efficacy of whole school improvement models. In this paper, the authors begin with a brief…

The ECERS-R and ITERS-R are among two of the most widely used observational measures for describing the characteristics of early childhood education and care. This paper describes a professional development programme currently taking place in seven regions across England, designed to train local government staff in the application of the scales as…

This chapter begins with a commentary by King, a longtime admirer of Cousins and Whitmore, in which she discusses why their 1998 article on participatory evaluation is considered an important contribution to the field. Participatory evaluation was not a new idea in 1998. By the mid-1990s articles, chapters, and books that described evaluations…

The Roundtable on Comprehensive Community Initiatives for Children and Families is a forum in which persons involved in the current generation of community-based cross-systems can engage in discussion about their work. Roundtable members, now numbering 30, meet biannually to share lessons they are learning and to work on common problems they face.…

This report presents the evaluation findings of a 3-year project to develop a comprehensive statewide (Montana) inservice program in gifted and talented education. An introduction summarizes the project's results: regional leaders presented 172 trainings to 3,021 individuals, thereby affecting 90,124 students; conducted 36 consultations in various…