Discusses the roles played by participants and the processes involved in a provincial standards-setting exercise for a large-scale assessment of student skills. Offers perspectives of a policy maker outside the exercise and an insider participant. Describes alternate notions of representativeness, stakes, and significance. (SLD)

Evaluated a critical-thinking skills-training program for inservice training of classroom teachers in Georgia using responses from 700 questionnaires. Modeling of the strategy being taught, knowledge and enthusiasm of the trainers, and material relevance contributed to the high quality of training. More follow-up to the training would be extremely…

Children of Drug Court clients are at high-risk for substance abuse and other risk factors. This paper summarizes the results of a program needs assessment, process evaluation, and outcome evaluation from the Kentucky Drug Court Strengthening Families Pilot Program. Results indicated overall positive changes for families in the program.…

The effectiveness of Tennessee EdTech Launch (TnETL), a statewide technology program designed to meet the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandate, was investigated in this matched treatment-control quasi-experimental study. The goal of the program was to provide full-time, on-site technology coaches to prepare teachers to create lessons that engage…

This report provides an evaluation of the efforts each state and the District of Columbia are making to provide nutritious summer meals to children of low-income families. The evolution of the Summer Food Service Program for Children (SFSP), created by Congress in 1968 to provide funds for eligible sponsoring organizations to serve meals to…

This report describes the outcomes of three grant programs administered by the New Jersey Department of Education's drug and alcohol prevention education and intervention: (1) the Substance Awareness Coordinator (SAC) Program II; (2) the Emergency Grant Program; and (3) the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (DFSCA). The impact of core team…

This document reports on the evaluation of eight women's studies programs in the State University of Florida System. After reviewing the development of women's studies as a discipline, sections of the report cover measures of quality and vigor in women's studies programs, curriculum, women's studies programs as community builders on and off…

First-year outcomes of a restructuring project in four Maryland middle schools are summarized in this paper, with a focus on new rules, roles, and relationships. Methodology involved interviews with 52 teachers and building administrators and 18 state department of education staff members; observation of school improvement teams; and document…

A study examined local U.S. Employment Service (ES) office placement performance and the role of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in guiding and monitoring state and local ES program performance. Regression and other statistical methods were used to analyze state and local program performance based on the following: placement data for…

A task force was appointed to insure that New York State's health information service programs were operating optimally. The task force was charged to review: (1) the effectiveness of the guidelines and assessment form as published in the "Manual for Assessing the Quality of Health Sciences Libraries in Hospitals"; (2) the present…

Evaluation and results of a statewide promotional campaign using billboards featuring Johnny Cash to promote public awareness of, and recruitment for, Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs in Ohio are presented with the highlights of the purchasing and distribution activities. Response to a questionnaire sent to all ABE directors in Ohio requesting…

Designed for use by Michigan community colleges wishing to conduct a self-study of their occupational programs, this manual provides step-by-step instructions and instrumentation for implementing the Program Review in Occupational Education (PROE) model. PROE is a component of the Michigan Community College Occupational Education Evaluation System…

This report on the New York State Community Schools Pilot Project summarizes the project, focusing primarily on the Edwin Gould Foundation for Children's role in providing technical assistance, coordination, and support services. Between January and October of 1988, the Gould Foundation conducted the following activities: (1) organized a statewide…

The Early Childhood Development Program in Louisiana was established to improve the readiness of preschool-aged children, statewide. The target population included children who were eligible to enter kindergarten the following year, who were at high risk of not being sufficiently ready for the regular school program, and who had not been…

At the request of Congressman Charles B. Rangel, the General Accounting Office (GAO) conducted an investigation of federal efforts in drug abuse prevention and education activities, focusing on: (1) how the federal government provides leadership and coordination; (2) the federal agencies involved in drug abuse prevention and education activities;…