The Office of Program Evaluation (OPE) of the Austin Independent School District (Texas) (AISD) is charged with evaluating federally, locally, and state funded programs in the AISD. OPE staff carry out mandated reporting for federal and state grants and are increasingly involved in formative evaluations designed for program improvement and…

Evaluation of foreign languages in the elementary school (FLES) programs is needed to provide feedback (descriptive data about a school's offerings) and accountability (program accomplishments). Thorough program evaluation verifies both a district's thoughtful, written philosophy of foreign language education and local goals. Some FLES program…

This paper reviews evaluation reports on the use of integrated learning systems (ILSs) in elementary and middle schools throughout the United States in light of the following questions: Do these systems work? Do students make more progress using an ILS than learning in "traditional" ways? Could the cost of software and equipment be…

The process of developing indicators, measures, and standards of program quality can be considered a tiered, four-step process consisting of the following: (1) identification of topic areas important to program quality; (2) establishing the indicators that reflect quality for each area; (3) determining measures of the indicators; and (4) setting a…

As a preliminary to developing criteria to meet quality control requirements of the National Literacy Act of 1991, a study examined federal and state development of measures of program quality and performance standards for programs funded under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education…

In 1991-92, a study was conducted to refine and implement a system for evaluating the California Community Colleges' vocational education special projects funded under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984. The study focused on the 110 projects funded in 1988-89 and 1989-90, assessing their achievement of federal and state goals.…

This report examines five models of school-based integrated human service programs to evaluate the effects of the programs in light of the growing support for and implementation of these programs. The study examined the following programs: (1) school-based health clinics in Baltimore (Maryland); (2) Success for All (an elementary school-level…

A framework is presented for evaluating family centers in the context of the community environment. The family centers will be created in a variety of communities and under varying auspices. Several will be selected as prototype centers and, as such, will need more elaborate evaluation plans than the others. Prototype centers will need to evaluate…

Motivated by the introduction of a new secondary school language curriculum in Malaysia, a project was undertaken to examine its effects on classroom teaching and learning, particularly from the teacher's perspective. The portion of the project that involved training state officials to participate in a formative evaluation of the curriculum and…

This monograph summarizes outcomes of a forum addressing strategies to improve special education program evaluation efforts and orient policymakers, administrators, and advocates to the benefits of program evaluation as an integral part of program improvement. The forum also addressed barriers restricting evaluation of program effectiveness…

Six doctoral students evaluated an educational leadership program they were in by participating in a focus group simulation. The students were all enrolled in or auditing a qualitative research course at Northern Arizona University's Center for Excellence in Education (NAU/CEE). Prior to the simulation participants were given instructions on the…

Programs for disadvantaged gifted students require teachers with a number of positive characteristics and a relevant curriculum. The New Challenge Program created by the University of Texas Pan-American College of Education is a Saturday morning enrichment program for disadvantaged gifted children. Students select from classes such as Basic and…

Two program evaluations are described to demonstrate two very different methodologies and consumer orientations. The first, a patient satisfaction survey commissioned by a medical center, used surveys as part of a larger continuous multipurpose evaluation process, and the second, the ZooGardens evaluation, was a one-time multimethod evaluation of…

The evaluations of substance abuse prevention programs have been criticized for being incomplete, for lacking a comprehensive approach, and for lacking a process evaluation component. Context factors have been found to have distinctive patterns among alcohol and other drug abusers. Among the variables of interest, family cohesion, family…

This report evaluates the Quality Education Initiative (QEI) evaluation system developed in Pennsylvania to monitor and report progress of individual programs or sites serving students with and without disabilities. The system has three parts: a Program Documentation Outline (PDO), a Program Reporting Outline (PRO), and a Program Improvement…