Across the country, educators, parents and students are saying that there is too much testing in our schools and that testing is taking valuable time away from teaching and learning. These concerns are legitimate and merit attention. School district officials have the opportunity to respond to concerns about over-testing by leading a conversation…

"Student Assessment Inventory for School Districts" (see ED603651) is a tool district leaders can use to take stock of their assessments and assessment strategy and do so from a student perspective. Achieve developed the "Student Assessment" to support a process by which districts evaluate the assessments students are taking;…

In this chapter, we revisit and expand the context framework of Debra Rog, informed by three cases and by new aspects that we have identified. We then propose a way to move the framework into action, making context explicit. Based on the framework's components, we describe and illustrate a process we label context assessment (CA), which provides a…

We are interested in exploring the processes teachers use when planning. We sought responses from teachers on aspects of their planning from a survey of various aspects of their decisions. We found that, while there is diversity in processes teachers use for planning, a consistent theme was that teachers make deliberative decisions at all stages…

Organizational evaluation capacity building has been a topic of increasing interest in recent years. However, the actual dimensions of evaluation capacity have not been clearly articulated through empirical research. This study sought to address this gap by identifying the key dimensions of evaluation capacity in Canadian federal government…

Students are people--not data. Assessment data can bury you or give you focused information on how to reach every student. "Putting Faces on the Data" shows how to develop a common language for sharing all students' progress with all teachers and leaders and how to use ongoing assessment to inform instruction. Based on worldwide research from more…

Too often, teacher evaluations haven't provided enough information to spur improvement in teaching. The vast majority of teachers in any school, district, or state are rated above--sometimes well above--average. The feedback that teachers do receive is often not specific enough to help them improve. In this article, Morgaen Donaldson explores some…

This entry in the James H. Stronge Research-to-Practice Series focuses on specific strategies teachers can use to improve the quality of their instruction. Studies have shown teacher quality to be the top indicator of student achievement, with the effects of good teachers apparent even as students move on to successive grades. In this book, Grant,…

This paper presents a plan of action for managing evaluation implementation and ensuring the ongoing utilization of evaluation results. It addresses strategies that are required to manage the problems encountered in a 10-step management plan. Focus is on introducing an evaluation monitoring system within organizations. Steps in the plan include:…

The traditional view that an activity's comparative impact on collective welfare ought to guide resource allocation is refuted. A paradigm of a multisystem society with the non-fungibility of investment resources an essential issue in project appraisal is presented. (SLD)

Reflections on the politics of program evaluation are presented. Topics discussed include policy question development and translation into evaluation questions, translation of evaluation questions into the evaluation proper, translation of evaluation findings into policy, and generation of new policy questions. (TJH)

Using a needs assessment conducted for the Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia as a test case, this article analyzes the conditions facilitating the collection of information needed for strategic planning in a voluntary organization and the related conditions influencing whether or not the information would in fact be used. (TJH)

Physician impact analysis (PIA) is a planning tool intended to provide a way to evaluate the impact of a new or replacement physician's practice profile on the clinical program priorities, staffing resources, and costs of a hospital. Key methods for PIA and issues related to its use are considered. (SLD)

This paper outlines purposes of program evaluation and provides practical information to help individuals from a wide spectrum of backgrounds use evaluation to move their program ahead in a purposeful manner. Wisely moving ahead requires an assessment of an organization's past and present as well as an examination of its assumptions about the…

The concept of evaluation readiness complements other evaluation planning approaches. Its basic products are the formal program definition and the data inventory framework. Ways to improve timeliness, appropriateness, and use of evaluation are also discussed. (Author/GDC)