Recent teacher evaluation reforms instituted across the country have sought to yield richer information about educators' strengths and limitations and guide decisions about targeted opportunities for professional growth. This study describes how results from new multiple-measure teacher evaluations were being used in 2014/15 in five school…

Early childhood stakeholders in state departments of education are interested in knowing what child assessment measures are being used in state-funded pre-kindergarten and in kindergarten classrooms. To address this need, the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) performed a secondary analysis of data in the National Institute for…

The chapter explores critical roles of internal evaluators in contemporary organizational settings. The need is highlighted for an expanded, reconfigured, unorthodox set of roles and styles of work to meet the needs of the emerging learning organizations effectively. A discussion of major categories of internal evaluator roles emerged from the…

The purpose of this study is to describe what data preschools in a mid-sized city in the Northeast collect, how they use that data, and the challenges they face. The study focuses on three types of data: early learning outcomes, dosage (i.e., the amount of exposure to early childhood education), and classroom quality. The report further…

This "Stated Briefly" report is a companion piece that summarizes the results of another report of the same name. This study explores how seven early childhood education programs in a mid-sized city in the Northeast region are collecting and using data, how they would like to use data, how they could use the data that they have, and the…

This manuscript describes the development and testing of an Internet-based cost survey that was designed by the authors for the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) to capture the costs of school-based health programs. The intent of the survey was twofold. First, the survey was designed to collect comprehensive data on costs in a…

At most Canadian and American community colleges and universities, student ratings have been implemented as a means of evaluating course instruction. Although concerns regarding the validity of student ratings from instructors' perspectives have been studied quite extensively, issues associated with the use of student ratings information by…

Based on experience with a large public organization dedicated to transportation and economic development, an evaluation group manager provides insights into evaluation utilization. Motives, objectives, and impacts of evaluation are discussed; and a model of the evaluation universe is provided. (TJH)

An experiment examined combinations of evaluation report type (anecdotal, critical outcomes, utility analysis) and impact level (low, average, high) on 233 managers' interpretation of human resources scenarios. Anecdotal reports were significantly less useful. Impact level had no effect. There was no interaction between report type and impact…

This article explores the relationships between kinds of evaluations, analytic methods, and interpersonal processes and the acceptance of recommendations by decision makers. Detailed typologies based on a review of the literature provide the basis for quantitatively testing concepts about the utilization of evaluations against empirical data.…

Draws on interviews with 61 officials in 13 federal agencies to illustrate a framework showing many of the potential uses of evaluation in support of performance management. Suggests 10 actions as opportunities for agency administrators and evaluators to bridge the current gaps between potential and actual uses of evaluation. (Author/SLD)

Anecdotal evidence from interviews with some program managers gives evidence that unintended negative consequences of evaluations are more than a theoretical concern; they are a real problem deserving an evaluator's attention and energy. Negative consequences usually include: (1) wasted resources; (2) demotivation; and (3) program destruction and…

The viability of persuasion theory as a framework for the assessment of program evaluation utilization was assessed. Independent variables studied included credibility, involvement, and role groups. More specifically, the research was designed to address three questions concerning: (1) the occurrence of peripheral involvement persuasive effects…

The evaluation conduct factor involves matters such as whether correct methodology is being used, whether the measurements used are philosophically consistent with the goals of the program, timeliness, and format of the evaluation report, and whether recommendations provided in the report are usable. This study analyzed the conduct factor in the…

Evaluators must use a flexible, open-minded approach oriented toward a holistic view of the implementation and operation of the program they are analyzing. The use of more than one methodology expands the potential findings and avoids the limitations of a unidimensional approach. (SLD)