Since the beginning of the 21st century, evaluability assessments have experienced a resurgence of interest. However, little is known about how evaluability assessments have been used to improve future evaluations. In this article, we identify characteristics, challenges, and opportunities of evaluability assessments based on a scoping review of…

Evaluating teachers' professional development initiatives (PDI) is one of the main challenges for the teacher professionalisation field. Although different studies have focused on the effectiveness of PDI, the obtained effects and evaluative methods have been found to be widely divergent. By means of a narrative review, this study provides an…

This study is a content analysis of selected federally funded leadership preparation program evaluation proposals for the 2008, 2009, and 2010 School Leadership Program grants. The United States Department of Education (USDE) began awarding funding in 2002 to develop and implement preparation programs for aspiring and current assistant principals…

This is a critical review of methodological issues in the evaluation of adult literacy education programs in the United States. It addresses the key research questions: What are the appropriate methods for evaluating these programs under given circumstances. It identifies 15 evaluation studies that are representative of a range of adult literacy…

Purpose: The use of e-learning is largely predicated upon the assumption that it can facilitate improvements in student learning and therefore can be more effective than conventional techniques. This assumption has been supported by some in the literature but has been questioned by a continuing body of contrary or indifferent evidence. The purpose…

Impact evaluations of school-based management (SBM) programs, or any other kind of program, are important because they can demonstrate whether or not the program has accomplished its objectives. Furthermore, these evaluations can identify ways to improve the design of the program. These evaluations can also make successful interventions…

With the myriad challenges facing parents in recent years, formal parenting training programs have been developed to address parent needs. However, few studies have been conducted to assess the actual effects of participating in such programs. An attempt to develop a better understanding of how informal parental support networks and formal parent…

The role and methods of an evaluator of program effectiveness are discussed. Responses to questions prepared by academicians were obtained from three evaluation practitioners; an external, independent evaluator; and an internal evaluator with program implementation responsibilities. Practitioners uniformly indicated that internal evaluators were…

Reviews available published rural program evaluation efforts, documents reasons rural community mental health centers have offered for not implementing systematic program evaluation activities, and offers constructive suggestions for overcoming barriers to evaluation. Introduces standard program evaluation strategies. Discusses techniques and aids…

Describes the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and reviews and assesses research on its impact. Recommends policy reforms and randomized experiments to evaluate the program and any changes made to it. Weaknesses in research to date make the real impacts of WIC unclear. (Contains 79 references.) (SLD)

This paper outlines purposes of program evaluation and provides practical information to help individuals from a wide spectrum of backgrounds use evaluation to move their program ahead in a purposeful manner. Wisely moving ahead requires an assessment of an organization's past and present as well as an examination of its assumptions about the…

Discusses the importance of fairness in evaluation studies of second-language programs and the potential for misinterpretation of studies which are not program-fair. Strategies designed to overcome this problem from the perspective of standardized tests include: specific tests for each program, program-specific plus program-neutral measures,…

Summarizes literature on early childhood (EC) program evaluation, presents an overview of the national standards addressing quality in EC programs, and presents the results of a survey of the evaluation practices of 18 model EC programs. Found that the programs' evaluation procedures were varied, well-developed, open-ended, and process-orientated.…

Program impact methodology--usually referred to as evaluation research--is described as it is developing in the United States. Several problems face the field of evaluation research. First, those issues grouped as "meta-scientific" include: (1) the distinction between qualitative and quantitative studies; (2) the separation of implementation and…

This paper provides practical information to help experiential educators from varying backgrounds effectively use program evaluation. Program evaluation uses specific and systematic procedures that result in findings that are useful to decision makers for achieving program goals. The purpose of any program review process must be clear, including…