The "Forum Guide to Data Literacy" is designed to help education agencies understand and build data literacy skills among various stakeholder groups such as administrators, teachers, students, parents and other caregivers, school board members, legislators, and community groups. This resource defines and discusses the importance of data…

This guide for district and school leaders shows how to recognize opportunities to embed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) into planned policies or programs. Opportunistic RCTs can generate strong evidence for informing education decisions--with minimal added cost and disruption. The guide also outlines the key steps to conduct RCTs and responds…

This "What Works Clearinghouse Procedures and Standards Handbook (Version 3.0)" provides a detailed description of the standards and procedures of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). The remaining chapters of this Handbook are organized to take the reader through the basic steps that the WWC uses to develop a review protocol, identify…

A professional learning plan is the navigation system for the comprehensive professional learning system. Professional learning plans establish short- and long-term guidance for professional learning and its implementation. This workbook offers information and tools to walk educators through seven planning steps--from data analysis, to setting…

Coalitions have key roles in helping their communities accomplish the following: (1) Track the level of literacy in the community; (2) Use that information to help identify what, and how much, literacy assistance is needed; (3) Assess the extent to which community literacy programs are meeting the need, including how well existing literacy…

Investigating University-School Partnerships: A Volume in Professional Development School Research, the fourth book in the PDS Research Series developed by the same editors, includes a collection of organized papers that represent the best and latest examples of practitioner thinking, research, and program design and evaluation in the field at the…

The purpose of this paper is to encourage the reader to distinguish between evaluation and other information-gathering procedures, to distinguish between measures of efficiency and effectiveness, and to make informed decisions about when to use evaluation rather than another procedure for producing information about a project. Material is divided…

This manual is a beginning guide to program evaluation. Designed for program evaluators who have little or no previous experience in manipulating data, this guide is designed to demonstrate how to evaluate different aspects of a vocational rehabilitation program--and use those findings for program improvement. The use of averages, percentages, and…

After-school programs are popular with parents and the community, but are a lot of extra work for headteachers and the staff involved. This book will provide headteachers and administrators with the guidance they need to build a successful and sustainable after-school program. Based on a national study conducted by the author, this hands-on…

An outcome of a study of adult basic education programs initiated three years ago by the Columbia University Center of Adult Education, the evaluation guide with its step-by-step instructions can be used for both formative and summative evaluations of adult basic education programs. Background research involved in this publication included direct…

The statistical methods presented in this workbook focus on the display of central tendency, statistical tests, and correlation. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 consist of worksheets, each of which provides step-by-step instructions for calculating and interpreting a particular statistical method. The introduction to each worksheet explains how and when to…

The needs assessment process is broken down into nine steps: (1) identifying community leaders; (2) defining assessment terms; (3) developing areas of concern; (4) conducting the assessment; (5) data analysis; (6) prioritizing; (7) analysis of probable success in meeting needs; (8) planning the program; and (9) evaluation. Surveys are discussed,…

This manual is a resource of ideas and suggestions for comprehensive statewide planning of vocational education. It is directed toward both experienced and inexperienced vocational education planners. The data analysis and display techniques presented are useful for producing information for developing state plans and for communicating data-based…

The purpose of this manual is to aid an educator in evaluating the Learning 100 (L100) system within his instructional setting. It includes information on the procedures necessary for evaluation, including planning for evaluation, stating objectives in operational terms, preparing a research design, administering the study, analyzing and…

This book is intended for the practitioner of evaluation or for the student about to do his or her first formal evaluation. Chapter 1 sets the role of evaluating within the context of an organization and discusses a critical role of evaluation: changing people, programs, and organizations. Chapter 2 discusses personnel appraisals from an…