Governments, organizations, and companies are generating copious amounts of data and analysis to support education decision-making around the world. While continued investments in data creation and management are necessary, the ultimate value of information is not in its "production," but its "use." Herein lies one of the…

Background: Statements or commitments making use of numbers have an important place in government policy. They appear at all stages of the policy process: campaigning, formulation, monitoring and evaluation. Many types of sources are involved including research studies, national survey information, routine operational data collections and special…

In appraising the Individually Prescribed Instruction system, three sources of information were utilized: a main instrument, the Degree of Implementation Study, and two additional investigations, the Report of Student Progress and the report of the school visitation monitors. To determine the degree of implementation, a sample of the student…

Six hundred l970 and l975 graduates of the Teacher Education Program (TEP) of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale were surveyed on biographical and workrelated data, on the graduates' perceptions of their own competencies in the areas of planning, instruction, and evaluation, and on their perceptions of the degree to which the TEP was…

Questionnaire responses of 58 (67.4%) parents of students enrolled at City School, Vancouver, as well as responses of 6 parents whose children had withdrawn from the school prior to May 1972, are summarized. The questionnaire is made up of 20 questions and 1 "comments" section. (For related documents, see TM 002 482-483, 485-486.) (DB)

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the extent to which children's mental health agencies can meet the information needs they consider to be most important and also comply with recommended standards of the Mental Health Statistics Improvement Projects (MHSIP). Three children's data sets representing three different agency…

An evaluation was conducted of 37 Follow Through classrooms. From each of these classrooms, six students were randomly selected to be administered the Visual Sequencing Task, the Pictorial Self-Concept Scale, the Ladder (a self-concept measure), and the Pupil Attitude Survey. These pupils were also video taped for observation of their activities…

Distortion and selective disclosure limit data that are available to program evaluators, producing a bias that tends to maintain the status quo. Paradoxically, attempts to objectify the data only increase the potential for distortion. Ironically, one way to encourage innovation may be to not measure it. Additional solutions are suggested.…

In 1975 the American Library Association (ALA) prepared and distributed nationally lists of materials for younger readers and adults to stimulate interest in the America Issues Forum. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the distribution system and quality of the lists. Questionnaires were adapted for random samples of school,…

The data gathering forms and activities developed during the planning and implementation of an adult independent study and guidance program at the Salt Lake City Public Library are described. The need for a utilization of this data is outlined, and the study's goals and objectives are stated. Appendixes contain flow charts of the Salt Lake City…

An overall analysis is made of the impact of Grade 3 Title I reading programs in the State of Michigan. An attempt is made to estimate the effectiveness of particular reading programs for low-scoring, middle-scoring, and high-scoring pupils for the purpose of identifying exemplary programs. In addition, a rank ordering of the various programs…

The Illinois project entitled Measurement and Evaluation of Public Library Services is being conducted by the Library Research Center (LRC) at the University of Illinois. The long range goal of the project is to make available meaningful information for the evaluation and improvement of local public libraries. Two immediate objectives are to test…

Characteristics of Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) programs in New York State which relate to the achievement of their graduates on the State Board Test Pool Examination (SBTPE) were identified. A questionnaire was designed and mailed to all two-year colleges in the states offering the ADN. A total of 32 questionnaires were returned (91 percent).…

The language skills category of objectives of the Appalachia Preschool Education Program as measured by the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA), is discussed. The point is made that one of the difficulties associated with evaluating language development is the loose fit between available theoretical and operational definitions of…

At the request of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement, the Panel to Evaluate the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) was established in 1985 by the National Academy of Sciences. This report culminates an extensive two-year study of NCES and reflects the panel's broad view of the center's…