In focusing on why and how standards might be incorporated into the evaluation process, two themes are explored: the extent to which the Evaluation Research Society (ERS) Standards differ from other recent standards-setting activities and their applicability to local and state-level evaluation efforts. (Author/LC)

A summary of the writing assessment programs reviewed in this journal is presented. The problems inherent in the programs are outlined. A coordinated research program on major problems in writing assessment is proposed as being beneficial and cost-effective. (DWH)

This paper describes the experiences of Colorado Springs School District Eleven in using multiple measures to determine if third graders were reading at "grade level." The use of multiple measures may be threatened by the rapidly increasing pressures about assessment and accountability in Colorado that teachers are beginning to feel that…

Statewide coordinating agencies are examined concerning their role in determining whether or not to establish new institutions, branch campuses, or professional schools, as well as in deciding which institutions to reallocate or eliminate and which research and public service activities to institute. The historical background and purpose of…

Answers criticisms by Mary Anne Bunda, Ernest House, and Mary Kennedy. Discusses, among other issues, legal authorization for the use of higher quality evaluation designs and the use of evaluation research results. (GC)

The training, experience, and temperament of professional school staff does not prepare them to judge the strengths or weaknesses of school programs or make recommendations for improvement. Suggestions for priorities in teacher training institutions to improve this situation are presented. (JMF)

A study examined local U.S. Employment Service (ES) office placement performance and the role of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in guiding and monitoring state and local ES program performance. Regression and other statistical methods were used to analyze state and local program performance based on the following: placement data for…

Interviews with state legislators from Wisconsin (D. Bezruki), Massachusetts (T. P. Kennedy), and Virginia (P. Leone) illustrate the roles that evaluation is playing in the current state budget crisis. The influence of evaluation data appears largely specific to individual programs rather than systematically applied to the budgeting process. (SLD)

This document provides a process for evaluation of Florida's tech prep programs. It first summarizes the philosophy guiding tech prep activities in Florida and then it outlines the tech prep evaluation process. The evaluation process section includes the following: the goals and objectives of the process; its characteristics; the continuous…

Based on analysis of the current system and comparison with existing and possible alternatives, this report evaluates the effectiveness of the Indiana library cooperative network, a de facto network based on the activities of individual libraries, Area Library Services Authorities (ALSAs), the Indiana Cooperative Library Services Authority…

This report reviews the outcomes of a forum convened to examine policy and practice issues surrounding the annual evaluation of effectiveness of programs and services for students with disabilities. At the forum, alternative approaches being used by states to implement program evaluation were discussed, along with issues in gathering…

An interview with Lawrence R. Sargent, a state special education consultant, focuses on state education agency problems related to evaluation, state evaluation and monitoring of programs for mentally retarded students, and Iowa's approach to developing instructional outcome criteria as a measure of program quality. (CL)

To clarify the New Jersey State Department of Education's compensatory education requirements, the Instruction Committee of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) submitted a list of 12 questions to the Department's Office of Compensatory Education. This article contains the Department's answers to 7 questions and the Instruction Committee's…

This report evaluates the Urban University Program (UUP), designed to improve urban outreach activities at eight Ohio Universities: Cleveland State University, Kent State University, Ohio State University, University of Akron, University of Cincinnati, University of Toledo, Wright State University, and Youngstown State University. The UUP provides…

The evaluation of federal programs such as the migrant education program causes a dilemma for state education agencies. The law places the prime responsibility for establishing, and accounting for, quality programs on state and local education agencies. However, no explicit directive requires that this be done in a uniform manner. A lack of…