In this brief discussion of the evaluation of compensatory education, the author analyzes why it has been difficult to discover whether compensatory education has succeeded; in addition, why the causes of success or failure are difficult to assess. In particular, the author points out that the political and economic circumstances of programs make…

Commentary is presented on the evaluation of the Emergency School Aid Act and on an article detailing that evaluation (TM 503 672). The use of randomization and pilot studies is emphasized. (J KS)

The desirability of evaluating the total effect of the Emergency School Aid Act versus specific programs in the Act is the focus of this commentary on the evaluation of that act and an article detailing that evaluation (TM 503 672). (JKS)

This report presents the key findings and recommendations of the Advisory Panel for the Head Start Evaluation Design Project. The principal audiences for the report are: (1) leadership and staff of the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) who have administrative responsibility for Head Start; and (2) local Head Start programs.…

The nature of experimental designs in the evaluation of educational programs is addressed in this commentary on the evaluation of the Emergency School Aid Act and a paper detailing that evaluation (TM 503 672). (JKS)

A research design is described for the situation in which a program, particularly a compensatory education program funded by Chapter 1 of the Hawkins Stafford Act of 1988, can be evaluated when there is no available comparison group and no pretest data. The design requires content specialists to identify which objectives on the posttest were…

The one group posttest only evaluation model has been identified as a relatively inexpensive and useful model that can identify program components that are not being successful. The use of the model is discussed and illustrated through a hypothetical evaluation of a compensatory (Chapter 1) program. The one group posttest only evaluation model…

Looks at past evaluation of compensatory education, suggests new approaches to evaluation, and makes recommendations about program implementation. (IRT)

The evaluators of the Emergency School Aid Act respond to commentaries on their evaluation of the act and their article detailing that evaluation (TM 503 672). Each commentary is discussed. (See TM 503 673 through 678). (JKS)

To inform reauthorizations of Title I, the federal government's largest program for elementary and secondary education, the Congress has required the Department of Education to conduct national assessments of Title I. Two of these studies have gathered Title I data over several years: the Prospects study, completed in 1997; and the ongoing…

This document answers the question, "What has been learned about evaluation methodology from the decade of compensatory education"? Ten issues dealing with the evaluation of Title I were identified within a general theoretical framework of evaluation. For each issue it was the aim of this document to do the following: 1)to clarify the…

Notes that even with the problems identified in this paper, consistent, positive results are appearing in preliminary reports. Equally important, the data seem to support a number of reasonable notions about the impact of distinctive curricula on students. (Author/AM)

In 1988, Congress mandated a national longitudinal evaluation of the effects of the Title I program on students' academic achievement and classroom behavior. This paper presents an overview of the study design, analysis methods, and impact results for student achievement. The analysis used four types of designs to assess the impact of Title I: (1)…

The effects of using different data analysis methods on estimates of treatment effects of educational programs were investigated. Various regression models, such as those recommended for Title I program evaluations, were studied. The first effect studied was the amount of bias that might be expected to occur in the various settings. Results…