Describes the rise and evolution of educational evaluation, discussing trends in evaluation that have emerged since 1970 and projecting these trends into tentative estimates for 1991-2010. Paradigmatic and methodological shifts in evaluation that have affected today's educational evaluation are examined. (SM)

A trilevel (macro, intermediate, and micro) analytical framework was used to determine problems in the organizational context that reduce or impede the application of training outcomes. A law enforcement job-skill training program was studied via survey responses of 322 course graduates. Factor analyses identified predictors of training use. (SLD)

Statistical methods for program evaluation with nonexperimental data are reviewed with emphasis on circumstances in which nonexperimental data are valid. Three solutions are proposed for problems of selection bias, and implications for evaluation design and data collection and analysis are discussed. (SLD)

Discusses the role that technology will have in the national standards being developed by the New Standards Project. Examines the need for national standards, the use of technology in assessing whether students achieve those standards, and the timetable for the standards implementation. (MDH)

This review offers a general theory of utilization of educational evaluation and considers factors affecting utilization, including evaluation context factors and evaluator-controlled factors. Special challenges in evaluating programs for gifted students and design shortcomings common in evaluation of such programs are identified. Specific…

Eastern Illinois University's Health Studies Department is developing a comprehensive plan for evaluating the professional preparation program. The article describes its methods, discussing how the plan can be adapted for other situations and noting how to use the Role Delineation Project Curriculum Framework to collect relevant, informative…

Although selecting goals and indicators is the most challenging task of performance funding, implementation requires development of other critical elements: success criteria to measure institutional performance; indicator weights for percent of funding allocated to each indicator; an allocation method for setting the relationship between…

Outlines 13 priority research topics and 51 important research questions concerning medical education in ambulatory care settings, as defined by a distinguished group of medical educators, clinicians, and policymakers. Issues of theory binding, research priorities, and research design are discussed, and policy recommendations made for the…

Describes the design of a prototype multiauthor multimedia document production (MAMMDP) system. Discusses the problems of finding an appropriate task analysis technique, and introduces background concepts. Examines how the system's tasks were analyzed and represented during the early stages of the design. (AEF)

Examines implications of quality assessment for distance education and other forms of materials-based learning. Suggests that materials-based teaching cannot properly be judged in quite the same terms as conventional, face-to-face teaching. Presents and discusses 20 questions for program evaluation. (Author/AEF)

At a large university, faculty ratings in five academic areas were collected from two groups of students using paper-and-pencil or electronic survey administration. The two modes yielded similar factor patterns, with ratings influenced by academic area but not survey method. Students felt more anonymous using the paper-and-pencil method;…

Discussion of transdisciplinary activity-based assessment for young children with multiple disabilities focuses on application of assessment results to program planning for inclusion of these children in typical early childhood classes. Assessment steps are detailed and a sample assessment protocol is included. A case study is used to illustrate…

Six principles of effective outcomes assessment in medical education are presented, discussed, and illustrated in assessing a preclinical course integrating basic science, social science, and clinical skills. It is argued that courses and programs for medical students and residents should use course-based assessment to ensure that medical trainees…

Discusses the goals of early intervention for infants born with a cleft or craniofacial anomaly, which include facilitating feeding, counseling the family regarding expectations for growth and development, and identifying the nature and extent of family resources required. Program features of effective intervention are described. (Author/CR)

Describes an institute designed to train librarians to use the Buffalo Free-Net, an open-access community computer system. The objectives were to help librarians become comfortable with networked information and to teach them how to exploit the potential of the network to serve the information needs of their communities. (Author/LRW)