Background: There is a growing emphasis of evidence-based program requirements being integrated into social welfare policies for youth care services in the U.S. This trend highlights the need for increased practitioner understanding and involvement in the research process to develop and implement evidence-based programs for youth with emotional…

"Blended learning" is an educational approach that combines online and face-to-face components in the classroom, and it is becoming popular in American schools. But the quality of these programs is inconsistent; some are based on scientific findings on how children learn, while others lack such support. In fact, very little reliable…

It has quickly become apparent in the past year that online learning is not only an asset, but it is critical to the continued education of youth during times of crisis. However, districts and schools across the nation are in need of guidance and practical, research-backed approaches to distance and hybrid learning. The current COVID-19 crisis has…

This article describes the core features of outcome research and then explores issues confronting researchers who engage in outcome studies. Using an intervention research perspective, descriptive and explanatory methods are distinguished. Emphasis is placed on the counterfactual causal perspective, designing programs that fit culture and context,…

Described back-end synthesis as the creation and integration of the secondary intervention required for efficient and cost-effective implementation of performance improvement programs. Involving analysis, design, evaluation, revision, and implementation, this process is related to front-end analysis, and a sample application in a performance…

Project Follow Through involved a diverse and major set of implementation problems: (1) The initial program mandate for an action program clashed with the later switch to an experimental focus; (2) The selection of curriculum rather than structural changes as the major intervention led to greater uncertainty regarding the practices to be…

Describes how two methodologies for analyzing and improving performance--performance engineering and organization mapping--were used in a case study involving the purchasing department of an electric utility. Highlights include the establishment of a model of the desired results, measuring existing performance, and the designing of an improvement…

This paper focuses on public school program development to correct the effects of segregation. It suggests concrete measures and plans for the Cleveland Leadership Academy, which is designed to enhance instruction and access. Cleveland City School District's Remedial Order is a court-approved blueprint for desegregation that mandated management…

While an increased awareness of the dehumanizing and organizationally self-defeating qualities of residential institutions has fostered a movement toward community-based care, little research has been done to measure the "institutionality" of the alternate settings. As a part of a larger study aimed at describing alternative settings for…

Congress, using Public Law 94-482 entitled Education Amendments of 1976, instructed the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to develop, implement, and operate the Vocational Education Data System (VEDS). As mandated by legislation, the primary purpose of VEDS is to provide a national reporting system to generate uniform data from the…

This document presents the findings of a two-year investigation of Interactive Research and Development on Schooling (IR&DS). IR&DS is an alternate means of conducting school-based research and development and an extension of Interactive Research and Development on Teaching (IR&DT). IR&DS is seen as a means to: (1) involve school personnel in…

This paper presents organizational strategies and implementation methods for conversion to middle school organization (scheduled to take place in 1988) in the Johnson City, Tennessee, school system. Carried out by the district in partnership with local institutions of higher education, the study focuses on what is educationally best for the child…

This paper describes and reports results of a program aimed at improving performance of all students, K-12, through a program of sequenced objectives monitored with criterion-referenced tests. Target curriculum areas were mathematics, reading, and language skills. Nationally normed achievement tests were administered in a base year and each year…

The practice profile is a standardized, systematic, cost-effective tool for summarizing the components and requirements of a program in a manner that permits comparison with other programs or selection of discrete components from various programs. It provides a component checklist, a precise list of implementation requirements, and a system for…

This paper presents the State of New Jersey Board of Education's evaluation of the Operation School Renewal (OSR) Program, a multi-year assistance program involving the urban school districts of Trenton, East Orange, and Neptune Township (New Jersey). Goals included the following: (1) attendance improvement; (2) reduction of disruptive pupil…