Using data from 28 mildly retarded high-school graduates, the economic costs and outcomes resulting from special education services were determined. Results indicated that with appropriately identified, measured, and valued costs and benefits, it is possible to employ a formal benefit-cost framework to assess the efficiency of special education…

Reports on the evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) prevention program at several sites. Findings show a very small effect on children, but as has been the case for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (DARE), GREAT will continue because of its importance to stakeholders and political symbolism. (SLD)

Reports on a study of efforts by 76 college economics departments to assess faculty teaching effectiveness. Discusses four assessment methods: (1) classroom visits; (2) teaching materials; (3) formal follow-up; and (4) informal soundings. Concludes that many feel uncomfortable with the evaluation process. (CFR)

Researchers evaluated community social action education programs for at-risk youths using a portfolio and panel review evaluation process. Each program assembled portfolios that an expert panel analyzed for successful program components. Panelists then participated in focus groups. Results detailed 13 features necessary to make such community…

A variety of assessment techniques to measure and document the outcomes of interdisciplinary study at the college level are examined, focusing on the contexts and problems of such assessments. Several programs are profiled, suggestions for assessment design are offered, and an annotated bibliography of information sources is presented. (MSE)

Assesses Foxfire Teacher Outreach Program using data from surveys, classroom observations, and site-visitation. Describes how participating teachers incorporated "Foxfire philosophy" in classroom. Discusses evaluation, school climate, teacher burnout, and data's implications for program. Concludes that Foxfire training benefited…

Analysis of patient logbooks kept by 75 medical students in a family medicine clerkship provided a great deal of information about the nature of students' experience, changes taking place as the year progressed, the degree to which program objectives were being met, and differences between sites. (MSE)

This introductory article provides an overview of the national evaluation conducted within the original 22 grantee communities funded from 1993 to 1999. The history and underlying foundations of the evaluation are presented. Specific evaluation questions and components are outlined, and issues that evolved out of the evaluation process are…

Examines results of a three-year survey by the St. Louis Public Library to measure benefits users derive from its services relative to costs of providing them; the ultimate goal was to develop and test a practical, conservative cost-benefit methodology. Cardholders surveyed were general users, business users, and teachers/caregivers. (AEF)

In this chapter, the authors review three distinct theoretical discourses--educational measurement, hermeneutics, and sociocultural studies--to support the development of validity theory for the routine use of assessment by professionals working in complex, dynamic, and always partially unique educational environments. They review validity…

The first Teaching American History (TAH) grants were made available to K-12 schools from the Department of Education in 2002. They provide money to school systems for three-year projects to form partnerships with area organizations with the goal of increasing the American history knowledge of teachers and students. This study focuses on the…

In this case study our aim was to gain more insight in the possibilities of qualitative formative peer assessment in a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. An approach was chosen in which peer assessment was operationalized in assessment assignments and assessment tools that were embedded in the course material. The course…

This study explored the impact of a Cultural Self-Analysis (CSA) Project on early childhood undergraduate preservice teachers' cultural awareness and dispositions toward working with culturally diverse students and families. The project was based on the ABC's of Cultural Understanding and Communication, a model designed to facilitate the…

This study examined superintendents' perceptions of current performance evaluation practices and their preferences for those practices. Specifically, 1,125 superintendents across the nation received a questionnaire exploring evaluation effectiveness and results-based procedures. Findings indicate practices are neither uniformly effective nor…

A behavioral assessment system for scoring the behaviors of parents and coaches at youth sports games is described within this paper. The Youth Sports Behavior Assessment System (YSBAS) contains nine behavioral categories describing behaviors commonly seen during youth sports. The developmental process of YSBAS and the observer-training program…