Fidelity of implementation (FOI) refers to the level of adherence that a project keeps to its design. The evaluation of this project, a school-based arts implementation project, used a "fidelity to structure" design to determine how well the schools in the project followed the project design in the fourth and fifth years of the project…

Designing and implementing assessment instruments are ongoing challenges for physical educators. The initial design phase includes asking the question, "What do I want the students to know and/or be able to do?" Seemingly, the question is direct and should lead to a concrete answer. In addition to designing assessment instruments, one of the most…

Since the first child care Quality Rating System (QRS) was implemented in Oklahoma 11 years ago (in 1998), 16 additional statewide systems have been launched and numerous states are piloting or developing a QRS (Zaslow, Tout, & Martinez-Beck, forthcoming). As QRS stakeholders across the nation look ahead to the next decade, it is important to take…

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…

Measures of quality are now in widespread use across states as part of quality improvement initiatives. For example, many states are currently using global measures of quality that were first developed for research and practice purposes (such as the Environmental Rating Scales) in their Quality Rating Systems (QRSs). Although global quality…

An evaluation of Manitoba's French immersion programs at the levels of grades 3, 6, and 9 focused on program effectiveness in teaching listening comprehension and speech skills. The results for grade 9 are presented here. The first section describes the framework of the immersion curriculum and the listening and oral skills targeted in it. The…

Measuring attainment of the program's objectives and describing the program's implementation are listed as two of the evaluator's major responsibilities. The description should include an explanation of the context in which the program was initiated, as well as the component materials and activities. This booklet has three purposes: (1) suggesting…

This collection of 16 monographs centers around the theme the "future compatible campus," which is based on the premise that higher education will become a "connected campus" in a technology-enabled environment consisting of three components: connected learning, connected service to the community; and connected management. In…