The focus of this report is the Direct Instruction Supervision Code, developed to assess the degree of implementation of the Direct Instruction Follow Through Model. Most of this paper deals with the development, reliability, concurrent validity, and criterion-related validity of the code, which is a classroom observation instrument. The report…

This paper examines the extent to which legitimacy affects program continuation, and focuses on the process by which programs attempt to maintain legitimate status through conformity with the larger environment. Legitimacy is defined as cultural support from a program's larger environment, such as the school district or community. An innovative…

The extent to which evaluation research and psychology share some common objectives, methods and aims for validity is examined. The conventional dichotomy drawn between the two disciplines is seen as spurious and misleading to scholars and practitioners in each area. To demonstrate the proposed synergy between the two disciplines, an integrative…

A comprehensive conceptual framework for the validation of educational programs has been proposed. The conceptual framework includes the concept of an educational program as a system of curricular and instructional claims and methods of evaluation which entail a wide range of judgments of both logical validity and factual validity. Judgments of…

Schools of the Dallas Independent School District have developed procedures to implement and monitor school improvement measures. The district aims to improve student achievement in four areas: functional literacy, mathematics, reading, and basic language arts. Participants in instructional improvement include teachers, principals, administrators,…

A plan has been initiated in Georgia to ensure that project directors and evaluators are cognizant of and organized to meet criteria specified in the Identification, Validation, and Dissemination (IVD) guidelines. The evaluation/validation process involves eight steps: (1) evaluator training, (2) proposal screening, (3) critique of evaluation…

The purpose of this paper is to review some of the methods used for the impact evaluation of Demonstrator-Developer projects and to promote the meta-analysis approach. Four examples of attempts to collect and analyze impact data from adopters are presented, one of which used the meta-analysis approach. In this example, each adopter collected pre…

This paper reviews evaluations of social programs and major approaches to program evaluation. Its purpose is to examine the roles that philosophy, ideology, key audiences, preferred methods, and typical evaluation questions can play in the practices of contemporary evaluators. The report describes the Learning Connections Projects, a program that…

Two sections comprise this essay describing the process of planning for educational change. The first section defines values, goals, and operating procedures. These factors combine to facilitate educational change. The second section identifies the three phases of educational planning. Needs assessment, management techniques, and evaluation…

Findings of a study that evaluated the Spencerport, New York, "More Effective Schools/Teaching Project" and examined the project's validation process are presented in this paper. The program model was based on change at the individual school level, administrator/staff collegiality, comprehensive interventions based on school culture, and…

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…

Teachers can take on the additional responsibility of inservice leadership and can be trained in the processes of curriculum development. Through implementation of those procedures, teachers can initiate an ongoing system of needs-based inservice education. Steps in initiating this process include: (1) Teachers take the major responsibility for…

This paper describes a case study evaluation of the first year of an inservice staff development program in Galax City Schools, Virginia. The program was designed to teach teachers how to deliver subject matter associated with "The Teaching of Thinking Skills Program," sponsored by a Chapter II Competitive Block Grant. The program had…

In order to determine how much objective evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of career education programs in U.S. schools, American Institutes for Research in Behavioral Sciences (AIR) conducted a comprehensive, national search for well-evaluated activities. The initial nominations of 394 programs were received from state career education…

An external evaluation was conducted of the Picturepages television work-along program in Kentucky. The program consisted of 100 televised lessons and booklets, and was given to 237 preschool children. The lessons presented "games" which were designed to develop cognitive concepts and skills. Both process and outcome evaluations were…