Five activities are proposed for a federal evaluation agenda for the 1980s: (1) measuring net impact of social program cost containment; (2) implementing and evaluating new social experiments; (3) examining appropriateness of current social programs; (4) testing alternatives to established programs; and (5) developing procedures to ensure…

The conclusions of the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) concerning the effects of consolidating federal categorical aid programs into block grant programs are presented in this report. The block grants reviewed were established before 1981 under the Partnership for Health Act, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, the Comprehensive…

A study of Chapter 2 first-year implementation in nine states found that administrators like the flexibility of the block grants. Problems remain concerning the participation of private school students, service to special populations, and the continued use of state advisory councils. (MLF)

To maximize freedom from personal and political conflicts of interest, decentralized mechanisms of federal program evaluations are needed. Block grants mean that state legislatures and governors will become more responsible for oversight of funds. Three proposals are presented for helping the states deal with these increased evaluation…

Analyzes the intentions and results of federal efforts to promote educational improvement over the past 25 years. Federal efforts are described in the following areas: block grant funding; requirements for local evaluation and planning; research, development, and evaluation; linkage; and targeted support for local improvement. (CT)

Given the fundamental program changes that have occurred in the nation's social programs since President Reagan took office, federal evaluation activities need to be rethought and redirected. It is critical that the utility of programs be documented, economical delivery services be developed, and redundancy of interventions be reduced to optimize…

Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act places responsibility for the design and implementation of programs using Chapter 2 funds in the hands of local education agencies, and it assigns responsibility for administering the regulations to state education agencies. No formal mechanism exists, however, for coordinating the…

This paper reviews early research at the national level on the implementation and effects of the Department of Education's block grant, Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981. Findings are summarized under six topics: funds allocation, educational service delivery, program administration, program assessment, decision…

This report consolidates the information from a series of reports by the General Accounting Office (GAO) on states' fiscal, programmatic, and managerial responses to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981. Section 1 describes the major issues related to block grant implementation: (1) fiscal strategies adopted by states in response to…

This study was conducted (1) to determine the effects of the change, under Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA), from categorical grants to block grants in the District of Columbia, and (2) to compare these local effects with the findings of other nationwide studies. The first half of the paper is a review of reports…

The guidelines presented in this publication replace all guidelines previously issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Education for programs funded and consolidated under Chapter 2 of the Federal Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981. These new guidelines provide the materials and information necessary for local educational…

This report contains administrative summaries for program evaluations of these 11 1983-84 Chapter I, Chapter II, and state compensatory education programs in the Fort Worth Independent School District, Texas. The programs evaluated are the Elementary Resource Teacher/Aide Program; the Chapter I Parochial Reading and Mathematics Program; the…

This paper traces the evaluation requirements of the Title I/Chapter 1 Program since 1966 to the present, discusses the implications of the evaluations, and reports on the evolution of evaluation during this 20 year period. The evaluations are described in four phases: (1) from a nadir of low quality, utility and precision (1966-1974); (2) to a…

This report contains transcripts of testimonies and prepared statements presented at a session of the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. The session was convened to conduct hearings on the civil rights implication of the education block grant program proposed by the Reagan Administration. Statements of the following witnesses are…

This 14th annual report to Congress provides program-by-program summaries of evaluative information on federally funded education programs for fiscal year (FY) 1984. Each entry is divided into three major sections: (1) program profile, covering legislation, recent funding history, purpose, eligibility, and other information on requirements; (2)…