The preceding articles in this issue describe a diverse range of projects which had in common the aim of implementing or improving the practice of formative assessment, and thereby to secure some of the benefits attributed to it. This article attempts to set up a framework within which each of the different studies may be located and…

Asserting that traditional evaluation methods which employ only the outcome model do not yield enough information re: early childhood education programs and school programs in general, this article discusses methods of broadening the evaluative model to include an analysis of the on-going processes within early childhood programs. (JC)

Legally mandated educational programs often lack specificity and guidelines for such programs are often vague and subject to considerable variability in interpretation. This situation presents perennial problems for evaluators. Few evaluation models have the flexibility for dealing with this ambiguity and variability while at the same time…

Defines evaluation research and describes the dimensions of this research procedure. Presents six steps that guide the evaluation research process and provides five different models, discussing one in detail. (MA)

Several tools for clarifying program evaluation roles and an outline of educational program components and evaluative questions are presented. Available from: Extension Division, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon S7N OWO. (Author/MW)

Taking the position that the Classical Experimental Evaluation (CEE) Model does not do justice to the process of acquiring information necessary for decision making re planning, programming, implementing, and recycling program activities, this paper presents the Inductive, System-Process (ISP) evaluation model as an alternative to be used in…

The authors argue that most current modes of formative and summative teacher evaluation are fundamentally unproductive. Unproductiveness stems from focusing upon efficiency rather than effectiveness, post rather than future performance, individual rather than organizational performance, and authoritarian rather than collegial relationships.…

An evaluation design created to provide information for a multiple-project program of educational experimentation is presented. Project SEED (State Experimentation in Educational Development) became an official education effort in North Carolina on July 1, 1971. Model for the program was that of the State's ESEA Title III program with certain…

The Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Education developed a six-stage evaluation model for local school districts that emphasized the values of involvement, communications, self-evaluation, cooperation, comprehensiveness, continuity, and coordination. The model includes the four components of people, purposes, programs, and products. The initiation and…

The evaluation design described in this paper discusses all significant aspects of program development and follow-through for culturally disadvantaged children. Discussed are educational objectives, instructional methods, implementation procedures, and outcomes. (CK)

Evaluation procedures and programs in the Cincinnati, Ohio school system, the role of local school evaluators, and the models for school evaluation--based on high, moderate, or low trust--are described. Evaluators serve local schools in formative and summative evaluation projects, in assessing needs, and in meeting them. (MH)

Because discrepancies between individual needs and institutional roles are so often neglected in planning educational change, attention to this dimension may prove worthwhile. Evaluators who have omitted the evaluation of the effects of educational innovation on the total system--not just the students--may find it productive to assume this…

The Multilevel Evaluation Systems project was field tested in grades 4 and 5 classrooms in five districts of the University of Pennsylvania's School Council. Multilevel evaluation coordinates multiple sources of information (about student characteristics, school context, school and instructional processes, and a range of student outcomes) with…

The purpose, organization, and functions of research and evaluation in a large urban school district are discussed in light of several major issues in educational evaluation. Major issues include methods of assuring the credibility of evaluation information, the establishment and maintenance of meaningful reporting cycles, the recruitment and…

Value-added modeling (VAM) to estimate school and teacher effects is currently of considerable interest to researchers and policymakers. Recent reports suggest that VAM demonstrates the importance of teachers as a source of variance in student outcomes. Policymakers see VAM as a possible component of education reform through improved teacher…