Reviews characteristics of the 4-H program in America. Discusses the Congressional mandate of 1977 which called for evaluation of the program. Briefly reviews historically the controversy surrounding this mandate in terms of the shift in emphasis in the 4-H program which may result from a call for accountability at the national level. (CS)

Discusses applications of evaluation methodology for educational programs to extension evaluation. Reviews alternative evaluation designs, makes specific suggestions for interpreting past evaluation studies, and presents ideas for future extension evaluation. (CS)

Describes the evaluation design employed by the 4-H program in response to the Congressional evaluation mandate of 1977. Discusses difficulties encountered in design integrity and practicality in choosing an appropriate format for the national-scale evaluation. (CS)

Presents an external review of the evaluation process involved in evaluating the national 4-H program. Focuses on issues and lessons relevant to evaluation and research in general. Discusses specific problems encountered in the 4-H national evaluation. (CS)

Addresses the evaluation problem posed by the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 which directed that "social and economic consequences" or agricultural extension programs be reported. Presents a consequences-treatment matrix used in the national evaluation of the program, presenting operational definitions and discussing major variables.…

Examines the model used for the national evaluation for the 4-H program, discussing both strong and weak features of the model. (CS)

Discusses the evaluation matrix used in the national evaluation of the 4-H program and identifies where the payoffs for society in terms of learning for children are likely to occur, revealing results of the evaluation in comparison to expected payoffs. (CS)

A technique to measure the quality of agricultural extension programs by the clientele was developed and tested. The study was conducted in three major steps. First, unstructured interviews of forty-eight farmers and agribusiness persons in seven Ohio counties were conducted to identify those factors they considered when evaluating their county's…

Evaluation procedures for the systematic measurement of Extension's total impact or effectiveness in rural Shawano County, Wisconsin, involved developing comprehensive descriptions of Extension programs from 1960 to 1975 to list types of activities and offerings, topics, attendances, and overviews of efforts in program areas like agriculture, home…

The authors have written this manual to aid workers in the Cooperative Extension Service of the United States to be better able to understand and apply the principles and methods of evaluation. The manual contains three sections which cover the nature and place of evaluation in extension work, the evaluation process, and the uses of evaluation…

This manual is designed to introduce extension workers to needs assessment theory and techniques in an applied context and to serve as a tool for planning and implementing county-level assessments of youths' needs for extension education (including 4-H programs). First, the following steps in the program planning process are explained: identify…