Using videos of physiotherapy students, compared two assessment forms for validity and reliability (the first currently used by an academic program and the second developed from practitioners' perceptions of competence). Also investigated effects of training on assessment decisions. Found wide differences in individual ability to assess students…

Describes a study conducted in Finland that investigated designers' and teachers' conceptions of learning and evaluation criteria for educational software. Results indicate that designers emphasized the appearance of software while teachers referred more to practical teaching arrangements, and that participative and collaborative design is needed.…

For three weeks, this author served as a stateside evaluator conducting school site visits at four Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDs) located in The Netherlands. Those three weeks in The Netherlands were filled with forming new relationships with team members at each school site, learning about the unique needs of children who are…

Polygraph testing is becoming increasingly important in sex offender treatment. Polygraph advocates cite dramatic increases in historical disclosures that presumably allow more precise targeting of treatment interventions, earlier detection of risky behaviors that often lead to new offenses, and improved treatment and supervision compliance. Based…

This article presents the lessons that a team of evaluators learned during a study of a multicultural initiative in a large, Midwestern school district. During the evaluation process, three incidents brought the evaluators' multicultural best intentions into sharp focus. This article describes the evaluation's framework and process and then…

Two CD-ROMs from a series dealing with various major aspects of cell biology are evaluated in this paper using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings delimit similarities and differences of the two CD-ROMs and shed light on how the programs could be used in the learning process and how they should not be. The overall impression, as…

Legislative evaluators can inform state policymakers who face policy and budget decisions related to large and complex federal programs such as Medicaid. Unlike lobbyists, advocates, and other stakeholders who support particular interests, legislative evaluators are uniquely positioned to provide independent and timely information to assist…

Although experiential education is really the oldest approach to learning, its practitioners have not had an easy time justifying its relevance in the modern educational world. Recent changes in the methodologies of evaluation have provided useful tools for experiential educators. Such tools can be used to refine programming, enhance student…

The effects of the genders of the assessor and the assessee on performance observation ratings of beginning teachers were studied in public schools in Louisiana. Data was collected in the pilot phase of the Louisiana Teacher Assessment Program for Interns, which included both teacher observation and structured interview. Of the assessees who…

This study illustrates the use of three least-squares models to control for rater effects in performance evaluation: (1) ordinary least squares (OLS); (2) weighted least squares (WLS); and (3) OLS subsequent to applying a logistic transformation to observed ratings (LOG-OLS). The three models were applied to ratings obtained from four…

This document summarizes the National Institute on the Assessment of Experiential Learning conference in July 1989, during which educators from the field of adult education met to discuss prior learning assessment (PLA), a process developed for awarding credit for college-level knowledge acquired outside the classroom. Some educators were…

The work of the Program Effectiveness Panel (PEP) of the United States Department of Education was examined. The PEP is the Department of Education's primary means of certifying or validating the effectiveness of educational programs. Thirty-three educational programs were validated by the PEP between January 1988 and December 1990. Over time,…

This paper describes a study which examined the similarities and differences in the reactions to a naturalistic account between an internal participant audience and an audience external to the evaluation context so that some notions about generalizability of such material could be developed. A second aim of the study was to examine the…

The chapters in this book address four major concerns in the field of curriculum evaluation. The first chapter focuses on the formative evaluation of educational programs, concentrating on the link between program development and formative evaluation. The second chapter--"Evaluating Curriculum Implementation"--presents a classification scheme for…

This paper focuses on the need for increased sensitivity and responsiveness in international education and training project evaluations, particularly those in Third World countries. A conceptual-theoretical framework for designing and developing models appropriate for evaluating education and training projects in non-Western cultures is presented.…