Educators, researchers, and policymakers now acknowledge the importance of early childhood education for all preschool children. Unfortunately, studies have found that while most preschool children spend at least a portion of their days in care outside the home, they are not in settings of sufficient quality to produce later learning outcomes.…

This booklet is designed to help Professional Development School (PDS) planners and implementers who seek guidance in designing and carrying out impact documentation. It can also help students, researchers, and policymakers interested in investigating PDS effectiveness. The booklet offers a conceptual framework for conducting impact documentation,…

This paper examines the role of innovation in library operations, with an aim to incorporate innovative procedures that achieve convenience in practice, and efficiency and effectiveness in a simultaneous economic reduction. The methodology outlined in this paper is that of Best Practices. The objective of this method is to examine an…

Describes evaluation procedures for elementary school counseling programs. Three articles deal with the importance of evaluation in providing continuing services and point out the importance of program planning in the decade ahead. Specific evaluation procedures are suggested. (JAC)

Lists 45 criteria for assessing a school's multiethnic education program. (JM)

Students should have input about the teaching that affects them, but, as faculty often assert, students are not competent judges of a professor's expertise. However, an instrument which elicited students' nonjudgmental descriptions of their teacher's behavior could add valuable information to an evaluation dialogue with the professor concerned.…

The Chesapeake Health Plan, a Baltimore-based health maintenance organization (HMO), works cooperatively with Baltimore City Hospitals, a teaching affiliate of Johns Hopkins University. Their mutual involvement includes a quality evaluation program of the HMO. The program incorporates peer review and focuses on prevention or reduction of…

Review of congressional hearings leading to the enactment of the Education Amendments of 1974 (Public Law 93-380), the initial response of the United States Office of Education, and the study conducted by the National Institute of Education as mandated in Section 821 of PL 93-380. (MH)

A liberal interpretation of Section 151 of Public Law 93-380, to implement effective local evaluation of Title I programs, is supported. Weaknesses are cited: (1) nationwide impact data, (2) unsound aggregation of Title I achievement gains, and (3) lack of consideration of alternative evaluation methods. (MH)

The explication model for program evaluation is based on the anthropological approach which attempts to reconcile scientific observation with human insights and judgment. This approach is not intended to judge the teacher, but to understand the relationships between the teacher's behavior, intended outcomes, and students' responses. (MH)

Two evaluation procedures were evaluated in terms of their impact upon client attrition in a community mental health center. The behavioral analysis report, an innovative evaluation procedure, led to more treatment contacts than a traditional evaluation method. Possible effective elements within the behavioral analysis report are discussed.…

Discusses the use of transaction-cost economics in measuring the impact of educational reforms and whether these reforms are likely to succeed in the "real life" of schools. Several current educational reforms are judged on the basis of their transaction costs and consequent prospects for success. (GR)

This article comments on an article (Holburn, 2002), that argues misapplied approaches of person-centered planning can be remedied through scientific practices. It suggests that there are many empirical ways to improve the translation of the fundamental principles of personal dignity into better professional practices, other than through behavior…

This article describes the problem-solving model (PSM) used in the Minneapolis Public Schools to guide decisions regarding intervention in general education, special education referral, and evaluation for special education eligibility for high-incidence disabilities. Program evaluation indicates students received special education services earlier…

Suggests an evaluative model for assessing the quality of a music program that asks questions concerning goals and objectives, leadership of the program, staffing, curriculum and scheduling, instructional materials, and learning outcomes. Advocates the guidelines proposed by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) in assessing what…