Sound evaluation planning requires numerous decisions about how constructs in a program theory will be translated into measures and instruments that produce evaluation data. This article, the first in a dialogue exchange, examines how decisions about measurement are (and should be) made, especially in the context of small-scale local program…

This article addresses the leadership preparation line of inquiry developed in the past decade by the University Council for Educational Administration/Learning and Teaching in Educational Leadership Special Interest Group Taskforce on Evaluating Leadership Preparation Programs, and it particularly addresses the series of survey instruments…

Good evaluation requires that evaluation efforts themselves be evaluated. Many things can and often do go wrong in evaluation work. Accordingly, it is necessary to check evaluations for problems such as bias, technical error, administrative difficulties, and misuse. Such checks are needed both to improve ongoing evaluation activities and to assess…

Primary purpose of evaluation is to cause educators to look at the process and the product of education and to utilize evaluation data as a corrective tool. (Authors)

The relative utilities of subjectivity and objectivity in educational evaluation are debated. Page supports objectivity, while Stake supports subjectivity. (JKS)

Reflecting an increased awareness of the need for comprehensive curriculum evaluation, a monograph series has been initiated, focusing on major aspects of curriculum design and development. This introduction to the series defines curriculum evaluation as the collection, processing, and interpretation of two main kinds of data: (1) The objective…

This collection of 3 papers summarizes the current thinking of those involved in the Head Start Program Effects Measurement Project regarding selected issues in the assessment of Head Start program effects on children's development. The first paper describes the project panelists' current approaches to the selection of measurement dimensions.…

When participants with varied background and interests join in a collaborative activity, their different viewpoints may make the evaluation of the activity more difficult. Experience evaluating a multidisciplinary biomedical research center illustrates the influence of values on program evaluation. (Author/GDC)

A distinction is made between program evaluation and project evaluation. The former is used to determine the effectiveness of a particular program or to compare programs. The latter is used in the initial stages of program development to define and monitor progress; to identify problems at an early stage; to record what is done and why; and to…

A responsive educational evaluation is oriented more to program activities than to program intents, and stresses learning about the needs of the evaluation's audience, so that these value perspectives can be noted in reporting the successes and failures of the program. Most evaluation plans are more preordinate, emphasizing: (1) statements of…

The Koan technique was originated by Zen masters to help students open up to new possibilities and to help the individual realize his/her full potential. The staff developer should be engaged in the same process. Important factors in the evaluation process of staff development are listed. (JN)

These four papers focus on a consideration of the costs of evaluation, as examined in the Evaluation Use Project. "A Framework for Estimating Evaluation Costs," by Marvin Alkin and Brian Stecher, considers overall theory and draws on previous research in determing evaluation costs. The concepts are extended to develop informal quidelines…

This paper proposes an evaluation design for Mercer County, West Virginia's state funded early childhood education program, which was initiated to replace independent kindergarten programs. An introductory discussion lists the broad goals of the program, three data collection time schedules, program variables that define the model of the program,…

This second annual color keyed evaluation report describes 17 State goals for vocational education, presents criterion questions for each goal, identifies quantitative evidence, analyzes data to measure the extent of attainment of the objectives, and develops recommendations. Written as an evaluation system for a State project to aid vocational…