Ideas are provided for postsecondary institutions with limited resources wishing to increase their services to learning-disabled students. Practical suggestions are offered on how to define service eligibility, provide reasonable accommodations, establish diagnostic testing procedures, maximize existing ancillary equipment and services, market…

Offers guidelines on evaluating services provided by Advanced Technology Centers on an ongoing basis. Discusses the meaning of impact; strategies for measuring impact; evaluation variables; examples of possible measures (e.g., total wages paid by service area industries); and the need to invest time and resources in evaluation. (DMM)

A naturalistic approach to evaluation is illustrated through the description of the evaluation of a small-scale agricultural project in a village in Mali, West Africa. The evaluation considered program impact as well as the quality of the conclusions drawn using the illuminative model of evaluation. (SLD)

Licensing and certification regulations for Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR) can adversely affect individuals, distort the allocation of scarce resources, and encourage community residences to become small institutions. A case study of one home in northern California illustrates poor program evaluation and the need…

Evaluation issues pertaining to the Intelligent Vehicle Highway System are discussed. Transportation is an area that clearly illustrates how technology is outrunning social science. Those responsible for the evaluation of programs and options must assume responsibility for spelling out the destructive consequences of focusing only on technology.…

Three articles discuss instructional design considerations in education for executives: (1) "The Use of the Measurement of Continuous Improvement Model for Training Program Evaluation" (Ferdinand Tesoro); (2) "The Systems Design Approach to Developing Computer Based Instruction" (Gerry Costello); and (3) "Training as a…

Provides an update on community college responses to the new student majority who lack the skills to succeed in college-level work. Defines "at-risk students," identifies college responses to literacy problems, describes promising instructional strategies, and highlights problems in evaluating programs for at-risk students. (DMM)

This study examined three measures to determine which would provide the most useful information on changes in prospective teachers' conceptions of effective teaching: concept maps of effective teaching, computerized repertory grid interviews on teacher characteristics, or critiques of a videotaped teaching episode. Concept maps proved the most…

The historical development of evaluation in higher education is traced, and current views on assessment options are discussed. A case is made for longitudinal computer-based program monitoring by defining the approach and presenting a case study. Advantages and disadvantages are examined. (Author/MSE)

The background and dual evaluation approaches used in a nationwide arts evaluation project for Very Special Arts (arts programing for disabled and nondisabled children and adults) are described. Results of a field test in eight states of one of the assessment instruments developed in the evaluation are discussed. (SLD)

Program managers increasingly incorporate standardized tests into outcome evaluation. Guidelines are presented for selecting and using standardized measures following addictions treatment. These principles, which cover eight basic criteria, are applicable to outcome evaluation of health programs in general. Practical issues related to using…

Through diary entries and written reflections, two educators chronicle and comment on a two-week summer seminar for college faculty on use of the case method as a teaching technique. Discussion focuses on the stresses and rewards of the experience at all levels of participation. (MSE)

Strengths and weaknesses of three types of semiquantitative methods used by the federal government in research impact assessment are presented, and examples of their use are reviewed. These include the classic retrospective method, another retrospective approach, and accomplishments books used by selected research-sponsoring organizations. (SLD)

This article reviews the principal methods economists and cost benefit analysts use in evaluating research. Two common approaches are surplus measures (combinations of consumer and producer surpluses) and productivity measures. Technical difficulties and political and organizational constraints are discussed for these measures. (SLD)

Researchers investigated how prepared recent California State University teacher education graduates felt to teach limited English proficient (LEP) students. Results indicated subjects believed they had inadequate preparation in methods and adapting instruction in content areas. They felt they lacked opportunities to teach LEP students under the…