An observational monitoring system is described for evaluating preschool programs and providing feedback to relatively untrained caregivers in order to encourage program improvement in the social and cognitive realms. The system utilizes a simple one page observation form for teachers and children detailing interaction and type of activity. Data…

Operational analysis is defined as a part of formative evaluation, taking place while a course is in progress. Student-perceived problems, as reflected by student-initiated reports, are the source of data for this phase of formative evaluation. The self-reporting techniques can reveal individual differences in student/learning-environment…

The Cognitive Developmental Early Childhood program at Pennsylvania State University has formulated a program, curriculum, and evaluation system guided by Piagetian theory. The evaluation system described in this paper is a result of an intensive examination of the purposes and types of evaluation systems for their compatibility with the Piagetian…

The Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) Division of the U.S. Army Signal Center and School (USASCS) at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey evaluated CAI's success in teaching basic electronics. An initial feasibility study, interim assessments, and a summative evaluation assessed the value of the developmental, user-oriented, individualized CAI programs…

The primary objective of this statewide evaluation is to discern weaknesses in Florida's State Plan for the administration of vocational education. If the Florida State Plan is to become more than a seldom-read document prepared solely in compliance with federal funding regulations, overall priorities, procedures, and goals for statewide…

This statewide study achieved the following objectives: (1) It developed a methodology for conducting a benefit-cost analysis of vocational education programs in Florida; (2) It examined, compared, and analyzed public and private costs and benefits of four Florida vocational programs, (3) It compared public and private benefits and costs for…

This paper presents the rationale, techniques, and structure used to develop and implement an evaluation-accountability program for a new regional Education Service Center in Texas. Needs assessment, a critical element in this model, consists of objectively identifying the educational needs of clients and establishing an initial list of…

The Quality Assurance Model for Process Evaluation has been developed by the Southwestern Cooperative Educational Laboratory. It provides educational administrators several alternative techniques for maximizing desired terminal behaviors. By working with project directors, the evaluator helps to assist the program's implementation, providing…

The three papers in this resource guide are oriented to the needs of Spanish-surnamed and Indian children. The first paper points out three concerns to be examined before selecting reading materials: (1) the population for whom selection is planned, (2) criteria emphasizing children's needs, and (3) apparent trends in reading instructional…

This paper discusses a technique for evaluating the comprehensiveness, feasibility and viability of project models. The developed technique is based on the assumption that a school staffing model is an organizational pattern demonstrating certain specific characteristics. A method for describing these characteristics has also been developed as a…

This report presents the results of two field-based experimental studies to determine the effects of questioning techniques on student achievement and attitudes. The first study was done to determine what student learning outcomes are affected by teachers' use of probing and redirection techniques in classroom discussions. Another purpose of the…

Designed to evaluate the use of microcomputer-based labware (MBL) in junior high school science, the Computer as Lab Partner Project examined classroom experience of using MBL; system features used and curriculum designed; classroom procedures, processes, and interactions; gains and benefits of MBL use; and potential difficulties in MBL…

Formative validation methods were used with over 90 mathematics teachers in Utah to design an assessment of the mathematical and mathematics teaching cognitive competencies of underprepared middle and secondary school mathematics teachers. A summative validation study using 47 subjects indicated that the test was valid and reliable. (Author/PK)

This paper addresses some real assessment challenges that teachers have identified: (1) Figuring out what really is important for students to know and be able to do in history; (2) Teaching the skills of "doing history" in a world of testing that often seems to value only factual knowledge; (3) Identifying and using assessments that provide…

This document represents the first of two volumes presented in "Study of the Impact of the Statewide Systemic Initiatives Program" (Norman L. Webb and Iris R. Weiss). In an effort to evaluate the impact of the Statewide Systemic Initiatives (SSIs) on student achievement and the lessons that could be learned from the National Science…