The construction and application of innovation configuration in assessing the implementation of adopted/adapted National Diffusion Network (NDN) programs and developmental programs funded by Elementary Secondary Education Act Title IV, Bureau of the Educationally Handicapped and Vocational Education, are presented. Implementation evaluation…

A developmental writing program created for grades three through six is described in this paper. The first half of the paper describes the four-phase instructional model, which includes teacher-directed prewriting activities; successive drafts; editing by the writer, by peer editors, and by the instructor; and a publishing stage. The second half…

The Leadership in Public Affairs program at the College of New Jersey has begun to implement a developmental model designed to increase the community and political engagement of students. The primary tool to achieve these ends is public policy-oriented, community-based research (CBR). To date, two courses and a student fellowship based on…

This paper describes the structure and operation of an evaluation system for the developmental education program at Dalton Junior College (Georgia). All applicants for admission to the college who score below 330 on either section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test are required to take the Comparative Guidance and Placement (CGP) test to determine…

Evaluation as a political arbitration entity is discussed in the case of a multilateral literacy development project in the fourth year of operation in a Third World country. An external evaluation team was invited to evaluate the project when conflict appeared between the funding agency (A) and the technical agency (B) over a project-related…

This paper discusses how developmental programs in Georgia obtain and maintain their status as "Training Center." The establishment in Houston County, Georgia of a "Training Center," an innovative school outreach program that disseminates an early intervention program for high-risk 6-year olds, exemplifies how outreach services…

For 10 years, Rockland Community College (RCC), a college of the State University of New York, operated a Special Services Project (SSP), using federal aid to provide remedial and English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction to educationally disadvantaged students and those with limited English abilities. In 1987, RCC decided not to rely solely…

Evaluation is as basic to professional development as it is to education. Unfortunately, systematic evaluations of professional development programs are rarely, if ever, undertaken. Professional development has become polluted by extraordinarily presumptuous rhetoric about the intrinsic value of "development." In the recent flurry of…

This paper takes the position that standardized evaluation formats and procedures for multi-national development programs are not only desirable but possible in diverse settings. The key is the localization of standard systems, which involves not only the technical manipulation of items and scales, but also the contextual interpretation of…

This paper focuses on the need for increased sensitivity and responsiveness in international education and training project evaluations, particularly those in Third World countries. A conceptual-theoretical framework for designing and developing models appropriate for evaluating education and training projects in non-Western cultures is presented.…

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…

The Yale Child Welfare Research Program was a comprehensive, service centered, longitudinal, intervention project for low-income families and their children. Eighteen children from inner city, low-income, predominantly black families participated in the intervention program from before birth to 30 months of age. Each family was assigned a team of…

An evaluation of the developmental first grade, or pre-first grade, program of the Irving Independent School District (Texas) was conducted through four studies. Students are placed in the pre-first grade as a transition between kindergarten and first grade, typically on the basis of some assessment of maturity. The first study examined the…

To evaluate the effectiveness of a developmental composition course for students without adequate basic skills, a comparative analysis was conducted of the course grades of students (1) taking the developmental course, (2) repeating the developmental course, (3) taking the required composition course, and (4) taking the required course after…

To compare the effects of two different comprehension treatments on the reading of university students enrolled in a developmental reading laboratory, 74 students were administered pretests measuring reading achievement and reading attitudes and were given five weeks of instruction in text organizing strategies and vocabulary development. After…