The Minnesota Research and Development Center for Vocational Education (MRDC) has a major program of research focused on the education of special needs learners. The research study described in this report was a response to the lack of understanding and knowledge about special needs programs and evaluation activities related to these programs. The…

This report represents a goal based evaluation study of the School Without Walls, an alternative career education program for 11th and 12th grade students in the Atlanta, Georgia public school system. A questionnaire consisting of 19 items based on a five-point rating scale was used to assess program effectiveness according to student attitudes…

Presented is a guide for assessing the strength and effectiveness of school mathematics programs and for setting directions for change. The guide lists 21 standards under the headings of Instruction, Curriculum and Instructional Materials, the Teacher, and Physical Facilities and Equipment. In a section titled "Implementation," the guide provides…

A project was conducted to provide inservice education for university vocational education teachers and to develop a locally directed evaluation model. This locally directed evaluation plan was designed to help vocational education departments organize and conduct evaluation activities. The need for program evaluation has been articulated at all…

The design and development of a needs assessment procedure to assist local vocational education administrators in planning a mainstreaming approach for handicapped students in vocational education was the purpose of this study. The methodology involved a review of the literature on the general mainstreaming topic, program planning, needs…

Five different program evaluations were described to indicate those qualities which make an evaluation effective or not effective. Evaluation effectiveness was defined as impact on decision making or long-term policy formation, and influence upon a variety of audiences. Robert D. Matz described the First Chance Project, and concluded that the…

Three approaches to validating competencies of vocational education programs in technical and professional schools are examined. Competencies are defined as behavior-oriented and relatively simple, observable behaviors which can be identified and measured by the frequency of occurrence. The three models, which have elements in common, are expert…

After surveying the nationwide trend toward reduction and re-evaluation of counselors, this report traces the development of a guidance program accountability evaluation process. The history, a basic definition and rationale of the program, and its goals are described. Various assessment tools, data evaluation and the resulting suggestions and…

A peer-rating information system, designed to assess the ratings which peers make of each other's performance, is presented. An application of the computerized rating program, PEERRATE, to a graduate business course is described. Special features of the program are that: (1) rater bias is removed by considering only the intervals made by the rater…

A set of procedures were developed for evaluating the State Capacity Building Programs; (SCBP), state projects for increasing facilities for the dissemination of information related to education. Six scales were developed, based on questionnaire items, to evaluate the following six facets of state information-dissemination systems: comprehensive…

A project was conducted to develop a model for evaluating local vocational education programs in Missouri. Concerns of the project were formation of evaluation criteria, development of standard statements and indicators to operationalize the system, and securement of expert consensus on the criteria and standards. A Project Advisory Committee…

The Comprehensive Basic Skills Program Review (CBSPR) is an essential part of the New Jersey public school evaluation and improvement process. This group of handbooks describes a process for analyzing existing school programs and practices in relation to those factors which have been identified through research to be associated with successful…

Results of several evaluation studies of career education are summarized in this monograph including the results reported in four papers prepared for the Office of Career Education and of several unsolicited reports. Evaluation data is assessed in the specific areas of career awareness, career decisionmaking, and academic achievement. Other ways…

The model described here was developed for use as a program planning guide by teachers recruited from business, industry, and the professions who offer courses to employed adults seeking additional skills or improvement of their skills and job performance. Ten features of the model are listed: (1) The purpose is to improve the competencies of the…

The model described here was developed for use as a program planning guide by teachers, many of them tradesmen and lay people, at the secondary school level, who offer courses to adults pursuing interests that will add meaning to their lives. Ten features of the model are listed: (1) The purpose is to assist learners in the pursuit of interests…