The development of a microcomputer assessment system is described with respect to establishing its reliability, validity, utility, and cost-effectiveness. Using the system, nonprofessionals, in less than an hour, generated an in-depth inexpensive comprehensive individualized 5-10 page behavior assessment which was judged superior in quality by…

Discusses the proliferation of continuing education programs in nursing and describes five local programs. Examines the needs assessment approach and applicability in the five programs and includes an assessment of the evaluation processes used. (JOW)

Identifies factors that limit the effectiveness of pretests and posttests as evaluation methods and examines how they might influence obtained results. (JOW)

Key issues in planning and executing a training evaluation are (1) what is the purpose of the evaluation, (2) which aspects of the learning process are to be evaluated, and (3) what evaluation techniques are appropriate. (SK)

A brief history of educational evaluation efforts and trends with definitions and distinctions between summative and formative evaluation provides an overview of alternative methods and a rationale for selecting formative evaluation when appropriate. (SK)

Describes some evaluation designs and shows how they can be used to access intended and unintended outcomes. (JOW)

With the aid of funds received through a Title III ESEA, Section 306 grant, the San Juan Board of Cooperative Services (Colorado) has developed a system to aid teachers in evaluating their students. (Author)

In recent years, Web technologies have helped expand distance education in higher education. Online programs have become widely and generally accepted in many countries. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the number of Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) offering distance education has increased by one-third since 1994-1995; and 44…

This guide gives middle school teachers and principals the tools they need to get answers to their questions about program evaluation. It shows how to use the information to work more effectively and efficiently and explains how to use program evaluation techniques to make sure that the approaches selected really solve the problems of interest.…

Individual program evaluation studies have the potential to accumulate of very valuable knowledge and practical wisdom. Drawing on "The Case for Pragmatic Psychology" (D. Fishman, 1999), this paper contends that much of this wisdom is being thrown away because of the positivist paradigm used in determining which knowledge should be…

Based on a decade of evaluation experience, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) has developed the Integrated Evaluation Methods (IEM) Package, a series of conceptual and methodological applications to enhance CSAT-funded evaluation activities. Products in the IEM Package are organized within an evaluation framework constructed on the…

The proposed quality assurance framework for higher education in Australia will, for the first time since the early 1990s, introduce a process of external quality monitoring through the auspices of the Australian Universities Quality Agency. There is little research that evaluates the impact of external monitoring on the experiences of staff,…

Since its inception in 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been the nation's leading indicator of what American students know and can do. The focus of this chapter is on how NAEP, as it exists today, may be useful to educators, in particular four aspects of NAEP that may be of wide interest and use. This chapter…

Essays in this collection explore what a narrative perspective can mean for the practice of program evaluation. Narratives illuminate the value and meaning of a program or policy and can indicate the actions that need to be taken to improve it or to prevent failures in the future. The essays are: (1) "Introduction: Narrative Perspectives on…

North Carolina's Schools Attuned program offers teachers an instructional approach that helps increase students' classroom success by assessing strengths and weaknesses that influence learning. Approximately 400 teachers participated in the program's first year, 1998-1999, and an additional 400 began training in 1999-2000. Teams of teachers from a…