Christopher Newport College, begun as a colony of the College of William and Mary, was born in the 1960s out of the fervor to open the doors of higher education to more people. It enrolls between 500-600 students in freshman writing courses each semester. Changes to the freshman composition program were undertaken, beginning in 1994, with a shift…

This paper is a case study about the role of evaluation and its effect on a foster care program's adoption services. It presents examples of the dilemmas often faced by the evaluator who must identify problems and design action plans to correct program deficiencies. HeartShare Human Services of New York is an 80-year-old nonprofit agency that…

This document is designed to help local and state educators improve their vocational education accountability systems, as mandated by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990. The handbook is organized in three parts. Part I focuses on measuring the success of programs serving students who are members of special…

This document represents the final report for an evaluation study of the Delaware Computer Inservice Program. The purpose of this program was to increase the use of computers in traditional subject areas. The program was pilot tested in three schools, each from a different district in Delaware, during the 1987-88 school year. The focus of the…

An expanded vision of evaluation is offered that accommodates the use of both descriptive information and evaluative information, and which connects evaluation in the naturalistic paradigm with evaluation in the rationalistic paradigm for making informed decisions within programs of education and development. The model of "Information Development…

This community living assessment tool for parents of children with deaf-blindness was developed to help parents identify the strengths and weaknesses of their child's residential program using a user-friendly instrument. Three areas of assessment are covered: physical attributes of the home, available resources for promoting capabilities, and…

In 1990, the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development convened a Task Force to guide the work on a new Project on Youth Development and Community Programs. The major goals of this project are to expand the scope and availability of developmentally appropriate, community-based services for young adolescents, particularly those in high-risk…

This resource guide is intended to help in planning special education program evaluations. It focuses on: basic evaluation concepts, identification of special education decision makers and their information needs, specific evaluation questions, procedures for gathering relevant information, and evaluation of the evaluation process itself.…

As of June 1995, the federal government had granted to 28 states waivers from current federal laws and regulations, allowing states to test a wide range of welfare reform approaches. This study, conducted by the National Center for Children in Poverty, examined the evaluation plans of 21 waiver experiments in 17 states, focusing on the impact of…

This packet introduces some concepts in evaluation and accountability for mental health professionals in schools. The first section presents two briefs from the Clearinghouse of the Center for Mental Health in Schools. The first, "Mental Health in Schools: Quality Control, Evaluating Outcomes, and Getting Credit for All You Do," highlights the…

This report provides guidelines and a process for people with disabilities living in Massachusetts to follow to evaluate employment service options that will allow them to receive services best meeting their individual needs. Strategies for finding out information about the different programs and a checklist are given by which to evaluate…

This manual is intended for managers of training and institutional development programs. Its objective is to provide clear and practical advice for those who conduct impact evaluations. Impact evaluation is distinguished from other types of evaluation by the area of the program on which it focuses, the assessment of the extent to which a program…

This manual (and an accompanying video) is a literacy audit tool to help adult education practitioners find out how their clients and staff rate their organization's success in meeting the literacy needs of clients. The manual also contains background information about literacy and suggestions on how to use the literacy audit to help an…

This resource guide, the first of three volumes, lays out the fundamentals of outcome measurements for assistive technology. It includes the whys and hows of gathering data so that assistive technology practitioners can integrate outcomes measurement activities in their daily practice. Chapters include: (1) "Concepts and Rationale for…

An evaluation was conducted of the Arkansas adult education for homeless persons program funded through the Stewart B. McKinney Act. Evaluation activities included the following: a review of program applications; onsite inspection of the classrooms and materials for the homeless; observation of class activities; and interviews with program…