This evaluation of mathematics is one of a series of program evaluations conducted on a cyclical basis in the West Hartford (Connecticut) Public Schools. Its purpose is to provide information for program improvement and growth. The evaluation focused on eight questions, and the findings are organized by these questions, concerning: (1) the extent…

The importance of academic program review as the first step in the development of an institutional master plan is emphasized, and the benefits of developing an academic, data-based master plan are identified. The case of Sam Houston State University is used to illustrate the issues. Background information on the institutional milieu and the…

This study investigated the instructional beliefs of 182 elementary classroom teachers to determine the degree to which teachers' assumptions about instructional practices influence their teaching behavior and the classroom perceptions of their students. It used data collected from a national research project, Goodlad's "A Study of…

Research on reading teacher effectiveness has taken several different directions over the past 30 years: during the 1950s and most of the 1960s, research focused primarily on teacher qualities; in the early 1970s attention shifted to the effect of the teaching process on student learning, while in the late 1970s and early 1980s experiments defined…

Presenting concepts generally applicable only to small rural regions or to local economies, this publication explains multipliers, shows how they are used in calculating impacts, and provides some criteria for determining whether a given multiplier can be used in a specific situation. Following a discussion of aggregate multipliers, which lump…

A study of Arizona vocational education follow-up systems was designed to survey problems in and promising practices for developing information systems to provide useful data for decision making. Interviews with state, county, college, and school district personnel revealed that the major problem faced by those conducting follow-up studies at both…

Thoughtful, well-planned and systematic reviews of both instructional and noninstructional programs provide community colleges with a way of determining whether programs are meeting stated objectives and what standards of performance should be maintained. Programs that need improvement or should be eliminated can be identified, and fiscal…

Two innovative methods for collecting and analyzing qualitative data are vignettes and pre-structured cases. Vignettes are descriptions of situations or problems written by a professional, with a suggested outline and comments provided by a researcher. Advantages of this method are strength of impact of the written descriptions and efficiency of…

An investigation of how some school districts construct and maintain needed links between evaluation/testing and curricular/instructional activities is presented. Researchers must build on the twin strands of research about school and school district organization and developments in testing, evaluation methodology. School district characteristics…

The data entry quality control procedures in discrete data entry tasks in the National Longitudinal Study (NLS) Fourth Follow-Up Survey are examined. Direct data entry terminals were used to key survey questionnaire item responses, telephone interview corrections, respondent background information and supplemental questionnaire responses into…

MICROPIK is a multiple-alternatives, criterion-referenced model for evaluating CAI (computer-assisted instruction) software and microcomputer hardware against selected curricular objectives. The model provides decision-modeling control over diverse interactive patterns that occur when computer hardware, courseware, and instructional objectives are…

Decreasing fiscal budgets and declining student enrollments have forced many school districts to evaluate the alternative strategies in closing certain elementary or secondary schools, either temporarily or permanently, for purposes of consolidation. For rural and other small districts, the strategy of multiple district consolidation (merger) has…

A Teacher Survey was developed for administration to Illinois teachers whose students take the Illinois Inventory of Educational Progress (IIEP). The IIEP are the achievement tests of the state assessment program. The purposes of the Teacher Survey range from determination of a test's curricular validity to investigations of teachers' abilities to…

For teaching to improve, three factors must be in place. First, the college must use a valid and reliable student evaluation instrument in combination with other feedback mechanisms. Second, there must be an accompanying norming report that provides comparative and diagnostic information to departmental chairs and teachers. Raw data from even a…

The effects of religion and religiosity as measured by attendance at weekly religious services on the demand for private schooling is assessed. It is shown that Catholics, fundamentalist/evangelical Protestants, and respondents who attend religious services more often have a higher demand for private schooling. Data from the National Opinion…