Extant between 2004 and 2011, Aimhigher was the UK government's flagship national initiative for widening participation to higher education for young people from disadvantaged social groups, with costs approaching 1 billion British Pounds. Its demise was predicated on a perceived lack of progress and the absence of compelling evaluative research.…

This chapter introduces theory that undergirds the role of testing adaptations in assessment, provides examples of item modifications and testing accommodations, reviews research relevant to each, and introduces a new paradigm that incorporates opportunity to learn (OTL), academic enablers, testing adaptations, and inferences that can be made from…

Evaluation researchers and practitioners acknowledge that involving stakeholders in the planning and implementation of an evaluation increases buy-in, understanding, and use. With the recent increase in multi-site evaluations of large federal programs, evaluators must think differently about how to encourage meaningful collaboration by…

This article examines the power analyses for the first wave of group-randomized trials funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. Specifically, it assesses the precision and technical accuracy of the studies. The authors identified the appropriate experimental design and estimated the minimum detectable standardized effect size (MDES) for each…

As the number of large federal programs increases, so, too, does the need for a more complete understanding of how to conduct evaluations of such complex programs. The research literature has documented the benefits of stakeholder participation in smaller-scale program evaluations. However, given the scope and diversity of projects in multi-site…

The last major review of the achievement outcomes of comprehensive school reform (CSR) models was conducted in 2003. Despite the growing evidence base supporting CSR, the program was discontinued by the federal government in 2007. Now, six years after the 2003 meta-analysis, the study's lead author, Geoffrey Borman, revisits the results and…

This article reports on the results of a study undertaken by the U.S. Department of Education on the impact of the Reading First program, which offer little insight into which parts of the program are worth saving and which need revamping. The study found that the $6 billion spent on the program has helped students with basic decoding but not with…

"Let's Begin with the Letter People"[R] is an early education curriculum that uses 26 thematic units to develop children's language and early literacy skills. A major focus is phonological awareness, including rhyming, word play, alliteration, and segmentation. Children are encouraged to learn as individuals, in small groups, and in a…

Application of evaluability assessment by the Cooperative Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture is reviewed. The effort involved five states with six major programs since 1984. Underlying philosophy and methodological considerations are discussed, and background information is provided on the assessment processes and studies…

Social workers in academic and agency settings have the opportunity to do funded research using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R03 small grant mechanism designed for discrete, clearly defined projects that can be completed within a 1- to 2-year time period with limited funding. This article describes the R03 mechanism and provides a guide…

While the current debate in the evaluation community has concentrated on examining and explicating implications of the choice of methods for evaluating federal programs, the authors of this paper address the challenges faced by the government in the selection of funding mechanisms for supporting program evaluation efforts. The choice of funding…

Lack of sufficient accessible community-based health care services for individuals with developmental disabilities has led to disparities in health outcomes and an overreliance on expensive models of care delivered in hospitals and other safety net or state-subsidized providers. A functioning community-based primary health care model, with an…

The Office of Management and Budget has recommended the termination of numerous federal programs, citing a lack of program results as the primary reason for this decision. In response to this recommendation, several federal agencies have turned to logic modeling to demonstrate that programs are on the path to results accountability. However,…

Describes some of the ways in which the federal government has decentralized responsibility for national evaluations of federally-funded early childhood programs. Details the methods used in local evaluation studies, and the strengths and weaknesses of centralized and decentralized national evaluations. (Author/KB)

A study involving 1,800 teachers and 180 headmasters assessed the nature and scope of activities and problems associated with implementing federally mandated continuous educational assessment activities at the primary school level in Nigeria. Findings indicate that continuous assessment is preferred to the narrower one-shot evaluation. (TJH)