From my personal point of view, the role of a program evaluator is to gather information about the thoughts and experiences of individuals impacted by the program and to use the findings to inform program improvement. However, participants in the evaluation may be reluctant to share their full thoughts due to factors such as power imbalances and a…

The purpose of this report is to provide readers with a comparative analysis of the Massachusetts workforce "system" structures and performance reporting processes compared to other states. Though the federal workforce development system is often examined in its entirety and individual state systems are at times examined independently,…

Across the U.S., youth development approaches are being tested in out-of-school time programs as a strategy to combat the growing opportunity gap between privileged and underprivileged youth (Gardner, Roth, & Brooks-Gunn, 2009). Along with increased recognition of the value of youth development programming has come increased financial support…

A quality improvement system (QIS) is an intentional effort to raise the quality of afterschool programming in an ongoing, organized fashion. There are a number of reasons the QIS is gaining popularity. The main reasons community leaders are drawn to improving quality is that they know that 1) higher quality programs will mean better experiences…

Campus children's centers across the City University of New York system have changed substantially since the first one opened at Brooklyn College in 1950. The CUNY system now boasts eighteen such centers, each tailored to fit the needs of its particular campus. Twenty years ago the National Coalition of Campus Child Care Centers (NCCCC) conducted…

In 1984 the State of New York mandated participation in the Comprehensive School Improvement Program (CSIP) for elementary schools that ranked in the bottom 9 percent on statewide student competency exams. To discern the overall effectiveness of the program and identify why it appeared to succeed in some schools and fail in others, the changes in…

A CONFERENCE WAS HELD TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STUDY OF LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, RUSSIAN, AND SPANISH. DISCUSSIONS WERE CENTERED ON (1) DETERMINING CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION OF NEGLECTED LANGUAGES WORTHY OF INCREASED STUDY, (2) SELECTING A LIST OF LANGUAGES MEETING THE CRITERIA, (3) A…

This document was designed to provide school administrators and professional staff of New York State with a model for evaluating the grade 7-8 social studies program. The program evaluation model outlines a step-by-step procedure for identifying questions for study, gathering and analyzing data, and developing a plan for program improvement. An…

A revised Statewide System for the Evaluation of Occupational Education programs was put into effect during the 1981-82 academic year. That year all school districts in New York State which had received federal funds for occupational education during the period 1977-1980 were required to begin evaluating their occupational education programs. The…

APPROXIMATELY 100 EDUCATORS FROM FIVE STATES AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS PARTICIPATED IN AN INSTITUTE TO HELP INSTRUCTIONAL AND GUIDANCE PERSONNEL IMPROVE THE VOCATIONAL ORIENTATION OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO ARE PREPARING TO ENTER THE WORLD OF WORK. THE AGENDA CONSISTED OF SPEECHES ON VOCATIONS, GROUP SESSIONS TO DISCUSS VOCATIONAL PROGRAM…

This report examines the "Wave One" school districts in New York State as they expanded into the second year of Universal Prekindergarten (UPK). Through surveys with district UPK coordinators and analysis of final reports submitted to the state education department, information was gathered about the implementation, programming, and…

This report discusses the findings of a study that investigated whether the New York State Education Department's Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) has improved its oversight of special education by implementing a system for evaluating the performance of special education programs, and whether…

This document, which highlights the efforts of the National Institute for Literacy to pilot the development of state literacy accountability systems in four states, outlines the components, operation, and importance of state accountability systems and discusses considerations in developing a systems approach to planning and implementing a quality…

Developed for use in New York State elementary school social studies program evaluations, this guide outlines procedures and suggests the design of forms for identifying key questions, gathering and analyzing relevant data, and developing plans for program improvements. It is intended to assess strengths and weaknesses within current programs as a…