The role of program evaluation is examined in relation to policy analysis. Program evaluation is most persuasive as a component of the policy process when its role is clearly understood. Clarity can be achieved by using the program mandate to guide evaluation and by including practitioners in evaluation model developments. (SLD)

Total quality management interventions and assessments must be more theory grounded and contingency based to advance understanding of its applicability, potential, and pitfalls in the public sector. Two-step and stage-state evaluative models can be used to ameliorate its shortcomings. (JOW)

Compared two methods for evaluating youth empowerment programs. One program used a traditional, open-ended style of service planning and program tracking, and the other used precoded measurement procedures that invited the direct participation of youth in goal setting and evaluation. Discusses the relatively greater usefulness of the precoded…

Describes an application of multilevel modeling to repeated measures as part of an evaluation of Reading Recovery in 22 schools in England and multivariate models are applied to the within and between school aspects of the design. Results show Reading Recovery to be effective in the short term, but not the long term. (SLD)

The articles in this issue, written from the perspectives of academics, practitioners, and publishers, show that examining the consequences of assessment is an important, large, and difficult task. Collaborative action by assessment developers, users, and the educational measurement community is needed if progress is to be made. (SLD)

Two North Carolina projects used methods from the National Network for Family Resiliency's Parenting Evaluation Decision Framework. Parenting for Success for Hispanic Parents used focus group interviews and summative evaluation. Individualized education for Head Start parents used pre/posttests of parental self-esteem and child development…

Guidelines for documenting treatment efficacy for young children who stutter are suggested and illustrated. Measures in four realms are delineated: (1) conditions of documentation, (2) dependent variables, (3) establishment of treatment integrity, and (4) verification of the relationship between treatment and outcome. (Author/DB)

Outlines strategies for a successful collaboration with multimedia vendors. Topics include vendor and client responsibilities; six phases of a multimedia project, including analysis, design, audiovisual production, development/programming, implementation, and evaluation; and potential problems and solutions. (LRW)

Presents evidence, from three national studies, that departmental ratings for research doctorate programs in the United States reflect a contextual property representative of the university and not various performance-based departmental attributes. Academic departments within universities are found to be quite similar with respect to external…

Describes the a-e-I-o-u program evaluation approach, a framework for organizing key evaluation questions that allows for many models of evaluation and/or methods of data collection. Evaluations by users of the approach have indicated that it provides a practical way to organize evaluation questions and collect appropriate data. (GCP)

Studied the current state of school superintendent evaluation practices across the United States using state policy guides and materials. Findings show that 8 of 50 states do not have requirements or guidelines for superintendent evaluation and other states do not meet all the essential criteria for quality personnel evaluation. (SLD)

Using logic modeling as the basis for meaningful evaluation, specific steps are outlined for measuring learning outcomes in extension education: articulating outcomes, turning outcomes into knowledge statements, and constructing a tool to measure perceived changes in knowledge. Use of this learning assessment tool enables extension faculty to…

Presents two methods for assessing the scholarship of engagement at the institutional level: (1) Comprehensive Assessment of the Scholarship of Engagement (CASE), a systematic method that compiles information about service learning and community engagement, identifies campus strengths, and prioritizes planning areas; and (2) an institutional…

Explores the possibility of randomly assigning groups (or clusters) of individuals to a program or control group to estimate the impact of programs designed to affect whole groups. Applies the cluster-assignment approach to the evaluation of education programs targeting whole schools. Discusses statistical implications of the method. (SLD)

Presents the perspectives on commissioning and using evaluations of community-based agency leaders through interviews with four such leaders. Discusses respondents' needs and experiences in commissioning and using evaluations and their ideas about ideal evaluation products. (Author/SLD)