How should colleges determine whether students are placed into developmental or college-level courses? Each year, colleges place millions of students into developmental math and English courses upon enrollment. To do so, colleges most often use a high-stakes placement test, which numerous research studies have shown to be highly inaccurate in…

This interim evaluation of Louisiana's 1986-87 Early Childhood Development Program focuses primarily on ongoing second and third year projects, but also provides some descriptive information about the general characteristics and implementation strategies of first year projects. The purpose of the evaluation was to provide information to decision…

This pilot project, intended to introduce secondary students to health occupations, includes a curriculum that is being designed for replication in secondary schools throughout the nation. Evaluation of the project is intended to provide a valid means of curriculum adjustment. This document presents the proposed research design to be used for…

The study evaluated developmental progress in three groups of infants (9-30 months) presenting Down syndrome (n=28), mild disability (n=16), or moderate/severe disabilities (n=16). To evaluate intervention impact, formulas that measure rate of development and change in rate of development were computed. Findings indicated rate change formulas were…

The process of determining the effectiveness of developmental programs in two-year colleges was the focus of this study. It was limited to New York State, and designed in response to a request for proposals issued by Bureau of Grants Administration, New York State Education Department. The need for systematic review of developmental programs and…

A comprehensive three-level program evaluation plan assesses overall impact of early intervention programs through assessment of children's progress toward developmental milestones; quarterly child progress through administration of a program-relevant, criterion-referenced tool; and weekly child progress toward specific instructional objectives by…

Designed to accompany four filmstrips, this manual was developed to help early childhood educators--including curriculum specialists, administrators, teachers, and university faculty--implement a developmental program for young children. Filmstrip 1 introduces six components of curriculum organization and classroom mangement underlying a…

The question of whether economic development programs can be evaluated seems simple, but the answer is not simple because of the nature of evaluation. Determining a program's effectiveness requires the evaluator to distinguish changes due to the program from changes due to nonprogram factors. The evaluator must focus on outcomes caused by the…

This article is designed to present an overview of critical theory, research, and evaluation for the developmental mathematics educator. Students caught in the gap between high school mathematics preparation and entry-level college mathematics expectations--developmental mathematics education students--need to have their personal narratives told…

Various aspects of the goals and processes of the evaluation of remedial programs are discussed in this paper. The first section discussses assumptions related to remedial program evaluation in California's community colleges and highlights two perspectives, based on whether the remedial programs satisfy internal and/or external criteria. Next, a…

Many developmental educators have been assigned increased responsibilities for campus-wide enrollment management activities. A new system is needed for educators to more accurately sort through the rapidly growing database of information related to student retention. This will enable the reader to more quickly identify promising practices for…

Following a discussion of various methods of evaluating the effectiveness of developmental programs, this paper presents a research design for the evaluation of a developmental math program. First, the paper examines the objectives and benefits of conducting formative and summative program evaluations. The paper then identifies the single group…

Results from the second phase of a project to investigate strategies and outcomes associated with the assessment and evaluation of developmental/remedial/basic skills programs in New York State are presented in this report. Part I introduces the Assessment of Effectiveness of Developmental Programs in Postsecondary Education project, and the major…

Three types of evaluation methods are discussed in terms of their use in evaluating both cognitive and affective learning in developmental programs: standardized tests; criterion-referenced tests; and naturalistic inquiries. Section I looks at the complexities of learning and the inherent difficulties in judging the quality and quantity of what is…

This paper addresses the methodological issues encountered when attempting to evaluate a college course's effectiveness by determining whether students who enroll in it perform at higher levels than students who did not enroll. The paper identifies resource people who may be helpful in the evaluation, and offers guidelines for the research…