A discussion of how to examine curriculum and determine whether it achieves what it portends, is properly sequenced, has neither holes nor overlaps, and can provide successful educational experiences for the learner. (Author/HB)

Results are reported of research to test whether a simulation game can be used to identify and to influence the leadership styles practiced by elementary school principals. The design assesses whether principals can become more skillful decisionmakers through heightened awareness of their leadership styles. The research and educational…

The Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) developed a formative evaluation system for the National Diffusion Network (NDN). A national, federally funded organization, NDN disseminates innovative ideas to schools nationwide. A formative evaluation was designed as an ongoing low-cost series of activities to be carried out by NDN managers,…

Part of a forum on a Federal offices' search for a strategy to gain better evaluation utilization, this paper discusses the strategy's conception. Three categories of educational evaluations, defined by social and structural characteristics of the program environment, are identified: (1) trial evaluations, whose funding is not guaranteed beyond…

Limitations of linguistic theories of translation are outlined and an argument is presented for the inclusion of an evaluation component in a comprehensive theory of translation. The tasks which a linguistic theory of translation sets for itself are formulated since these provide an ad hoc set of criteria for testing the adequacy of the various…

The project described in this report was begun with the belief that elementary language instruction can be speeded up and made far more pleasant if initial emphasis is given to comprehension and if the requirement to use language productively, in speech or writing, is postponed until a fair comprehension ability has been achieved. It was also felt…

A study was conducted to investigate teacher effectiveness when formative evaluation procedures were implemented in their learning disabilities (LD) resource programs on a regular bases. Procedures included two measurement frequencies (daily or weekly) and two means of determining when to change a student's program (decision rules or teacher…

Prepared as part of the Unesco INTERCONCEPT pilot project, this study tests the relevance of a set of guidelines for the design of glossaries in the social sciences. The Library of Congress "Glossary of Library Networking" was chosen for this purpose. This paper discusses the analytic problem of glossary design in relation to its…

An applied model is presented for the utilization of formative evaluation in developing instructional materials. The model is introduced through a presentation of its conceptual rationale. A description is given of its methodology and instrumentation, and a demonstration presented of its development and utilization within the framework of a…

Once programs or projects have been planned (in terms of personnel, activities, and expected outcomes), it becomes most important to develop a method of collecting information relative to the implementation of the programs or projects. This process of determining if what is planned as a program or project is actually implemented is known as…

In order to move away from reliance on a single questionnaire in university course evaluation and move towards a more formative evaluation, a method was developed for helping a team of instructors specify and evaluate their course and program goals. The method involves small group workshops in which instructors are asked to describe their program…

To obtain from students information for formative evaluation of instruction, course-specific questionnaires were developed with individual faculty. Forms were introduced by a statement that the purpose of evaluation was to improve instruction. Although items varied with the course, all had potential action implications and all requested…

Positive and negative aspects of evaluating change programs are discussed, and a process evaluation model is proposed. The four specific areas upon which the paper focuses are as follows: (1) definitions of evaluation and evaluation research and a review of some approaches to evaluation; (2) the functional consequences of evaluation; (3) arguments…

While the educational product development field has expanded tremendously over the last 15 years, there is a paucity of conveniently assembled and readily interpretable information that would enable users to make accurate and informed evaluations of different, but comparable, instructional products. Minimum types of validation data which should be…

Before continuing education is effective, the rehabilitation counselor, along with the vocational rehabilitation agency, needs a comprehensive method to assess training needs. A rationale for training-needs assessment is described by using training-needs assessment instruments and examples of how training-needs assessment data are used to improve…