This article synthesizes interview data from evaluation directors and top executives of philanthropic foundations on how evaluation might better advance their missions. In key informant interviews, respondents commented on the purposes of evaluation from the foundation's perspective, challenges to effective evaluation, and the means by which…

This study reports on a large-scale implementation of Assessment for Learning (AfL) in a Swedish municipality. The implementation was founded on two principles: (1) teaching should be informed by educational research; (2) to be successful teachers' professional development needs to be based in everyday classroom practice. From these principles,…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate, using a randomized experimental design, the efficacy of TERC's "Using Data" program to change teacher behavior and improve student learning outcomes. The "Using Data" intervention provides professional development and technical assistance to teachers to help them use data…

There has been little data collected on how much testing actually goes on in America's schools and how the results are used. So in the Spring of 2014, the Council staff developed and launched a survey of assessment practices. This report presents the findings from that survey and subsequent Council analysis and review of the data. It also offers…

The U.S. Department of Education awarded 19 Challenge Grants for Technology in Education in fiscal year 1995 and an additional 24 in fiscal year 1996. These large-scale development projects are intended to mobilize resources, develop technology-enabled learning environments, and provide lessons to others seeking to make effective use of technology…

An evaluation of a prekindergarten program was conducted to assess its merit and to assist in the formative revision of program activities. The program operated in a public elementary school in a rural area close to a metropolitan area. Classroom observations, telephone interviews with 25 parents, surveys of 2 elementary school teachers, and…

This literature review and evaluation "tool kit" provides a summary of the research literature about the evaluation of large-scale intervention policies like the Blueprint for the Future program of the Scarborough (Ontario, Canada) Board of Education. This report is intended to assist in creating a realistic plan for the Blueprint…

What users of student ratings of instruction know about ratings and what they need to know to make valid and reliable use of ratings data were studied. An item bank of 153 multiple-choice items was developed from sources of information about student ratings. The full item bank had five subsets: (1) knowledge of ratings concepts; (2) knowledge of…

This study analyzes the ways in which school boards assess and utilize evaluation data and their attitudes toward testing. Interviews with 27 school board members from 10 districts indicate that board members tend to rely on informal working knowledge over formal information, and on district administrators' judgments. Findings suggest that simple…

A survey was conducted of expert instructional design practitioners about their use of developmental testing and revision procedures. The degree of correspondence was examined between published recommended practice and actual practice, as reported by 90 respondents to a questionnaire. The surveyed sample were members of the National Society for…