Using a stratified random sample and real-time virtual focus group sessions, we evaluated the regional administrative model, addressing personnel supervision, program direction, financial management, and administrative leadership. We concluded that the regional administrative model remains a highly charged topic, there is no common understanding…

Service learning is an academic discipline that provides students with "hands-on" opportunities for developing skills in real-world, community-based projects that serve and benefit community members. This dissertation reflects an action-oriented process for improving the quality of the Service Learning Program at City University of…

This report presents early implementation and operational lessons from the Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) evaluation. Funded by the Administration for Children and Families, SHM uses a rigorous research design to test the effectiveness of a new approach to improving outcomes for low-income children: strengthening the marriages and relationships…

A central problem of practice for professional preparation programs--especially those that are well established and have developed a reputation for doing their job successfully--is to take a careful and critical look at their work at periodic intervals. It is too easy to rest on reputation. And it is also easy to ignore the evolving context for…

In 2009, the federal government committed over $3 billion nationwide to help states and districts turn around their worst-performing schools. The U.S. Department of Education intended for the School Improvement Grants (SIGs) to spur dramatic change.This report looks at the results of a field study of the first-year implementation of those grants…

Response to intervention (RTI) can be both a system for providing early interventions to struggling students and a special education diagnostic tool for evaluating and identifying students with specific learning disabilities. Contributing to the very limited literature on state-level approaches, this report describes how nine states define and…

Evaluation practice within state education agencies (SEAs) is reviewed from a management consultant's perspective. The study is based upon a review of literature, discussions with the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Research on Evaluation Program, and visits to SEAs in California, Montana and Washington. The main findings of the study…

Designed for newly appointed vocational directors in Washington's community colleges, this handbook provides an overview of the functions associated with the administration of vocational education programs. Following a section outlining the role and qualifications of the vocational director, information is presented on the personnel…

The first part of this report is an evaluation of the Washington State Community College Telecourse Consortium's initial project, the offering of "The Age of Uncertainty" for credit at seven colleges during fall quarter 1977. Responses to evaluation questionnaires from six instructors and 72 students indicated that enrollments were…

A statewide survey of over 1,100 voters in the state of Washington indicated that voters in the state have a positive perception of the performance of superintendents and principals in the majority of management areas evaluated. The survey gathered voter opinions from different sizes of school districts concerning educational management at the…

In 1995, Gonzaga University embarked on a project to implement a university-wide information system. The search for an "out-of-the-box" solution began following an attempt to build an integrated data management system in-house. In 1994, Gonzaga decided to look at commercial solutions to its database management problems. With the blessing…

This report, the first in a three-volume study evaluating federally-supported day care in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, contains a discussion of various issues related to the use of federal standards for day care services and presents four optional strategies for upgrading the quality of day care in the four states. Each strategy includes…

The first of a two-part evaluation of correspondence studies in the State of Washington was concerned with opinion, descriptions, and recommendations of faculty at four state institutions on (1) how the faculty member is affected personally, (2) how students are affected, and (3) program improvement. Interviews collected data from 100 faculty…

This report describes the instructional and support services delivered directly to migrant children and youth in Washington State. It also describes the statewide services provided through special projects and programs. The report details the use of federal grant awards to the state for fiscal 1987. There are five sections to the report. Section…

Guidelines are presented to ensure the equality of athletic programs for males and females in the Washington state schools. This guide is designed as a foundation for the development of local school and district athletic programs. The essential components for athletic program equality in Washington are: (1) athletic equity plan development; (2)…