This document is intended to serve as a practical guide for implementing a teacher-student data link (TSDL) that supports a range of uses at the local, regional, and state levels. The guide addresses the considerations for linking teacher and student data from multiple perspectives, including governance, policies, data components, business rules,…

To ensure the best possible outcomes for young children with and without disabilities, early childhood educators must enter the classroom ready to conduct all types of early childhood assessment--including determining if children need additional services, planning and monitoring instruction, and determining program effectiveness. They'll get the…

Underutilization of evaluation findings relative to the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) legislation may not stem primarily from factors usually identified in the literature (e.g., methodological reasons) but may be superseded by a more potent factor such as the prominence of the policy or program on the national agenda. Viewed…

Although the evaluation of Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I programs was mandated with its passage in 1965, the emphasis on evaluation increased in 1974 with the incorporation of Section 151. That section was redesignated in 1978 as Section 183. Section 183 included the directive that evaluations be conducted every third year, to…

The paper compares evaluation requirements established under P.L. 94-103 (Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act) and P.L. 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act). The correspondence of the requirements to traditional evaluation models is noted, and obstacles to implementation of the evaluation procedures are…

Twenty-six congressional staff members dealing with educational legislation were surveyed concerning their sources of information and the relative importance and value of educational inquiry in various stages of the policy process. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations regarding improvement of the process were made. (MH)

The first of this document's three major sections describes the history and rationale behind legislative and executive action that led to the creation of NIE. The second section outlines the tentative status of the four major program planning efforts at NIE. These programs are (1) the visiting scholars program; (2) the basic studies program, which…

The Workforce Investment Act 1998 (WIA) made major changes in programs for youth from economically disadvantaged families. It mandated program performance indicators. A study examined the new performance indicators and determined whether they were adequate or should be supplemented with involvement of stakeholders concerned about youth programs.…

In October 2003, the US Department of Education contracted with Abt Associates to design and conduct the Reading First Implementation Evaluation. This report focuses on the following questions: (1) How is the Reading First program implemented in districts and schools? and (2) How does reading instruction differ in Reading First schools and…

The methodology procedures for a national study of vocational education systems and facilities are presented in this third of a four-volume report. Chapter I describes the development of study requirements (analysis of requirements and study development activities) and the development of study implementation (local education agency survey…

A national study was conducted to accomplish three objectives: (1) describe the organization and governance of state and local agencies and delivery systems for vocational education; (2) describe the basic provisions by which the capital and operating costs of vocational education are funded; and (3) describe the status of the nation's vocational…

The major data and findings of a national study of vocational education systems and facilities are presented in this first of a four-volume report. Part I is organized as follows: chapter I describes the present and historical organization of state vocational education administration structures and identifies types of state agency relationships…