The design and implementation of a partnership evaluation at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana, during the 1985-86 academic year are discussed. Within a conversational format, a strategy is outlined for sharing evaluation responsibilities between the client and evaluator. (TJH)

Examined self-reported importance and attainment of practitioner competencies among rehabilitation counselors, vocational evaluators, and job placement specialists across three major employment settings. The Rehabilitation Skills Inventory was completed by 1,294 rehabilitation practitioners. Data analysis identified generic competencies and…

Reports on favorable results of an independent professional evaluation of the journal and provides background on the behind-the-scenes workings of the journal. (NKA)

Discusses the importance of program evaluation, detailing the first step, selecting and working with an evaluator, and the terminology and uses of evaluation. Argues that evaluations should be cooperative ventures between evaluators and those evaluated, and should be part of a program from its inception; and that evaluators have both rights and…

"The Challenge," a publication of the US Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, provides critical information and resources to assist schools in creating safe and healthy environments for young people. Some topics of interest in this issue are: (1) Keeping Prevention Activities on Track; (2) Hiring and Working with an…

Parents and teachers have found that evaluations, both those provided by public school systems and private clinicians and hospitals, vary greatly in their comprehensiveness, usefulness of information and specificity of recommendations. Therefore, parents must become informed consumers when selecting who will evaluate their children as well as what…

This new edition offers an evaluation text that ranges from identifying the primary users of an evaluation to focusing the evaluation, making methods decisions, analyzing data, and presenting findings. Both practical and theoretical, the book tells how to conduct program evaluations and why they should be conducted in the manner prescribed. Each…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a Rasch-based procedure to calibrate responses for funding applications. The data set included 112 proposals and 66 readers, who independently scored randomly assigned proposals using a scoring instrument. The data were analyzed using FACETS (Linacre, 1999). The analysis indicated that the…

Two politically oriented factors are cited as major impediments to effective conveyance of evaluation findings to decision makers. The first factor, relevance, includes the elements of timing and matching of perceptions. The second, constituency support, includes recognition of reference groups and political benefits. (Author/LC)

Evaluators usually have preconceptions about how decisions are made in social programs and how evaluation results will be used. This article demonstrates how an evaluator's choice of a decision-making model has significant impact on the conduct and fate of the research. (Author/CM)

Scriven advocates a philosophical shift from the pseudoscientific doctrine of the traditional social sciences. He substitutes a key evaluation checklist--encompassing needs assessment, comparative value, and assessment of overall value; and suggests that evaluators use this checklist. Theoretically, the grounding of evaluation in judging and…

Reviews yearbook production guidelines prepared by the national rating services. Notes some differences and many similarities in the various guidelines. (FL)

Exploring the questions (1) What are values?, (2) How can values help the individual relate to his world? and (3) What is evaluation?, the author suggests ways an evaluator's values can constructively affect program evaluation. (Author/SK)

Meltsner classified evaluators as technicians, politicians, entrepreneurs, or pretenders, based upon differing expectations norms, training, and motivations. This role-perception study of evaluators in a large urban school district supported Meltsner, although few technicians or politicians emerged. (CP)

The 50-item Utilization Enhancement Checklist involves: determining evaluator role; understanding organizational context; planning; conducting the evaluation; and communicating evaluative information. The checklist is presented as a summary of the preceding nine articles. (Available from: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 433 California St., San Francisco, CA…