This document, 10th in a series of 11 subvolumes of a handbook providing training for educational research and development personnel in the development of instructional materials, deals with the task of evaluating instructional materials. The document is organized according to the three sequential steps involved in performing the task. Step 1 is…

A discussion is given of the formative evaluation process as it was conceptualized and conducted to assess a R&D training program under development. Included are a discussion of the evaluation context, the evaluation model, the procedures and instruments developed and implemented and their success, the types of evaluation problems encountered…

In IGE programs, evaluation takes place at all levels, but ultimately is directed at enhancing instructional effectiveness. (MM)

An evaluation research capability was used to document the design and implementation of two programs in a large urban school district. This paper describes the research context, the origins of the role of resident evaluator, the broad functions of this role, and factors contributing to the usefulness of this approach. (BW)

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Office of Program Evaluation and Research is responsible for providing information for program development and improvement; providing test information to special programs coordinators; and acting as a clearinghouse for all information concerning tests, evaluation methodology, and educational…

The nature of educational evaluation and its interaction with policy in six state departments of education is examined. Case reports of research and evaluation units are presented for Virginia (by Gerald W. Bracey), Michigan (by David L. Donovan and Stanley A. Rumbaugh), Washington (by Alfred F. Rasp, Jr.), South Carolina (by Paul D. Sandifer),…

The purpose of this paper is to outline elements that are critical for an effective analysis and revision of instructional units of a learning system. No attempt is made to present an exhaustive list of critical elements nor a list of elements that are necessarily mutually exclusive. The elements that are presented in the paper, although…

The Center for the Study of Evaluation Systems Project focuses on assessing the costs and impacts of managing testing, evaluation, and instructional (T/E/I) systems through a collection of nine papers: (1) "School District Evaluation Offices: Are They Worth the Money?," by Richard C. Williams and Pam McGranahan; (2) "How Two…

Action research, a term first used in the 1940's by Kurt Lewin, implies the application of tools and methods of social science to immediate, practical problems, with the goals of contributing to theory and knowledge in the field of education and improving practice in the schools. Collaborative action research suggests that each group represented…