The aim of this paper is to share the results of a global inquiry into the outcomes and impacts of action research (AR) projects. This is one of a series of papers associated with the Evaluative Study of Action Research (ESAR), an initiative launched by an international team of seven action researchers, to understand if the espoused intents…

Teacher preparation programs (TPPs) are where prospective teachers gain a foundation of knowledge about pedagogy and subject matter, as well as early exposure to practical classroom experience. Although competence in teaching, as in all professions, is shaped significantly by on-the-job experiences and continuous learning, the programs that…

The purpose of the study was to compare the practices used by HRD professionals to evaluate web-based and classroom-based training programs within seven Korean companies. This study used four components of evaluation to examine how HRD professionals evaluated web-based and classroom-based training programs in their organizations and compared the…

Steps to be taken to "operationalize" evaluation, i.e., to make evaluation work, are discussed and applied to the Unesco program of functional literacy. Evaluation is seen as an important social concern, as well as a field of study and an area of competence. Four types of evaluation applied to the Unesco program are context evaluation,…

The Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) was developed to provide a model for systematic evaluation of educational programs to determine their effectiveness in achieving goals and objectives. This paper demonstrates the applicability of the PMI model at the project level. Fresh Start Minischool at Ballou High School (District of…

The problem of educational evaluation, the various types of evaluation, and the different kinds of models of evaluation systems are discussed in some detail. The educational needs of the students, staff, community, and the Philadelphia Title I schools, as agreed by members of the evaluation team, are listed. A taxonomy of Title I evaluation is…

Recent methodological advances are described that enable the analyst to extract additional information from the data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology, including goal programming to develop cross-efficiencies, cluster analysis, analysis of variance, and pooled cross section time-series analysis. Some shortcomings of DEA are discussed. (LMO)

The rationale for the Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) is the subject of this paper. The Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools requested a model for systematic evaluation of educational programs to determine their effectiveness. The school system's emphasis on objective-referenced instruction and testing,…

All of the papers presented as part of a symposium concerned the application of the Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) to the evaluation of the District of Columbia Public Schools' programs supported by the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title IV-C. PMI was developed to provide a model for systematic evaluation of…

This article outlines the procedures followed in program evaluation in Pittsburgh public schools. A program design is obtained by asking the field staff a series of specific questions. As the staff interact, problems about the program are resolved. The consensus achieved is the basis for standardization of activities in the field. The next step in…

In Dyer's Student Change Model, performance indicators (PIs) are utilized as a measure of the effectiveness of educational programs. These PIs are examined and analyzed in some detail in this paper. In particular, the reliability of the residuals, the sensitivity of the measure to sample size, the random half reliability, and the stability of the…

Threshold analysis (TA) is introduced as an evaluation model. TA converts unknown variables into questions as to whether a given benefit, cost, or success probability is more or less than a threshold, above which the proposed project would be profitable, and below which it would be unprofitable. (Author/PN)

Evaluation is discussed as an information-gathering process. Currently popular evaluation programs are reviewed in relation to decision making and various approaches that seem to contribute to the decision utility of evaluation (e.g. classical approaches, Bayesian approaches, adaptive designs, and model-based evaluations) are described. (Author/AL)

Each of the divisions of the Office of Educational Accountability in the District of Columbia Public Schools was required to submit an evaluation design that would be used to measure division accomplishments at the end of the school year. Since the Division of Research and Evaluation had already completed the development of the Planning,…

Experimental design has only limited utility inthe field of educational evaluation and, in general, the methodology of the former does not equal the methodology of the latter; in fact, experimental design plays a limited role in the total framework of educational evaluation. Experimental design does have potential utility in the areas of input and…