A project was conducted in Pennsylvania to determine what changes might improve the effectiveness of the State's adult basic education (ABE) program. Northcutt's construct of functional competency adult performance level (APL) and Mezirow's program evaluation model provided the basis for the project's two components: APL assessment and program…

A model to encourage and facilitate change in school media programs was developed and field tested. The model was intended to provide assessment measures of media centers, planning strategies, and methods for implementing change. The model considered personnel, physical plant, collections, and operations. In 1975, the model was field tested in…

Included in this volume are the reports on foreign language research and development produced by the three working committees of the fifteenth annual Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Discussions of (1) the Indiana and Washington State programs, (2) "Artes Latinae," a complete project of programed learning…

A study reviewed the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department of Labor's (DOL's) Veterans' Employment and Training Service's (VETS's) administration of the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP) and Local Veterans' Employment Representative (LVER) program. While veterans received priority employment services at one-stop centers, VETS did…

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.…

Describes the role of evaluation in the development and ongoing improvement of a program to prepare Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). The teachers' voices presented here suggest the importance of considering their contributions in refining and improving teacher preparation programs. Implications for ongoing program…

In 2006, six community and technical colleges in Washington State joined the innovative national reform initiative called Achieving the Dream (ATD). This report describes the progress each college made in implementing ATD's "culture of evidence" principles for institutional improvement, examines strategies implemented by the colleges to…

Transforming Writing is a two-year action research project which aims to develop a model for the teaching and learning of writing that more fully incorporates a focus on embedded formative assessment. In the first year of the project, the 12 participating schools developed a model of writing underpinned by Talk for Writing, an approach developed…

Although many states in the United States are adopting policies that require all students to complete college-preparatory science classes to graduate from high school, such policies have not always led to improved student outcomes. There is much speculation about the cause of the dismal results, but there is scant research on the processes by…

Outdoor education continues to play an important role in helping to deliver the school curriculum. Recent UK government initiatives have encouraged schools to deliver more of the curriculum outside the classroom. However, teacher confidence in taking pupils outside has been negatively affected by many factors in recent years. The Hampshire…

This report presents a summary of the work of Minnesota's State Council on Vocational Technical Education for the biennium ending June 30, 1995. Part 1 summarizes the council's research and development activities. It describes the following: trends in the distribution of state and federal funds for vocational education; conclusions of the Perkins…

In August 1993, a third-party evaluator examined tech prep system development and implementation in Texas public schools and institutions of higher education. The second year of the evaluation focused on the following aspects of Texas' tech prep system: current status of statewide implementation, secondary school counseling, professional…

Since 1988 the Vermont Department of Education has been developing an innovative statewide performance assessment program. In 1990, the RAND Corporation began evaluating the Vermont assessment program, focusing specifically on the portfolio component of its assessment system. This report presents results from the evaluation in the 1992-93 school…

This report examines the Way to Grow (WTG) school readiness program, which is designed to promote healthy development and school readiness of Minnesota children from birth through age 6 by coordinating and improving access to community-based health, education, and social services. This pilot program began in fiscal year 1990 and was being…

The place for standardized testing in Chapter 1 evaluation is discussed. There is substantial evidence available on the negative effects of high-stakes standardized testing, and there is a clear link between Chapter 1 requirements and the amount of testing in most school districts. Standardized testing is usually used to identify eligible…