This paper summarizes results of telephone interviews with key personnel at 19 (out of 22) agencies receiving grants under the Center for Mental Health Services program, one part of a 5-year evaluation study examining the impact that utilizing measurable outcomes has on service systems. This component focused on the conceptualization and…

This paper presents a model of community scholarship. Community scholarship is defined as the products that result from the active, systematic engagement of academics with communities for such purposes as addressing a community need, studying community problems and issues, and engaging in the development of projects that build health. The paper…

An organizational blockage instrument was administered to measure the effects of administrative interventions by a new nursing dean prior to and following certain organizational changes. A significant reduction in perceived blockages and moderate prediction of the magnitude of specific changes prior to the second data gathering could be found.…

Structural learning theory and the Rasch model measured learning gain, retention, and transfer in 1,037 students, grades 7-10. Students learned nine functional relationships with either spontaneous or synthetic algorithms. The Rasch model gave the better description of the data. The hypothesis that the synthetic method was superior was refuted.…

The first stage of an evaluation and academic management project to be carried out at Bath University is presented. Included are the background to course evaluation, a proposed model, the development and testing of the model in the context of an innovative biology course at Queen's University, and the transferability of the model to other courses.…

The Ontario Ministry of Education conducted case studies of the testing programs in nine selected school districts. Results are presented in narrative form on the major study questions: testing program development and organization, the tests administered, uses of test results, and perceived role of the ministry in evaluation programs. (SJL)

Results from the normative evaluation of an anti-drug abuse program, which attempts to provide counseling services through teachers, indicate a large discrepancy between the program as planned and as delivered, especially with regard to coverage of the target group, quality of treatment, and teacher training. (SLD)

Argues that methods of assessing effectiveness of university supplemental instruction (SI) programs (in which successful students provide additional instruction to students in high-risk courses) have been inadequate. Suggests ways of isolating SI effects on student achievement, and recommends broadening research methods to include qualitative…

Describes the introduction of the Patchwork Text format into the dissertation on a Master's degree in Social Work. Discusses the rationale for rethinking the conventional dissertation and the "patches" making up the revised dissertation format. Draws upon completed dissertations of two students on the program to illustrate how the characteristics…

Virginia's statewide plan of educator preparation in functional behavioral assessment, as required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, is described. The step-by-step training process facilitated positive academic and nonacademic outcomes for all students. Preliminary data support the effectiveness of both the content and…

Reasons for evaluating intergenerational programs are presented, and unique features and basic components of these evaluations are described. Strategies and methodologies used in the program evaluation process are systematically outlined. Careful and serious evaluation can provide insights into problem areas, successful program elements,…

Discusses the evaluation of second and foreign language programs, focusing on whether such evaluations should be summative or formative; use outside experts or program staff; emphasize qualitative or quantitative data; and concentrate on the process or the product. An annotated bibliography discusses six important works in the field. (78…

A survey of 17 registrars in colleges and universities using narrative evaluation of students instead of traditional grading investigated the types of institutions using the method, number of narratives generated, variations in form of narrative, history of the systems, methods of collecting and processing, control and limitations, costs, and…

Dissemination approaches of the U.S. Department of Education are explored in the context of federal efforts to recognize the best, considering relatively systematic approaches to recognition and the five vulnerable evaluation areas of (1) undefined universes; (2) noncomparable goals; (3) identifying reproducible conditions; (4) saturation; and (5)…

Two approaches for identifying, evaluating, and disseminating materials are discussed. One is the National Diffusion Network and its Program Effectiveness Panel, and the other is the Committee on Education and Human Resources, a new interagency effort with potential for examining a large body of generally underutilized mathematics and science…