Describes the evaluation of an attendance administration course and illustrates various evaluation processes, design features, and problems. Data were collected for reaction and learning as well as job behavior and results suggested the importance of supervisory support as an intervening variable. (Author/JEG)

Asserts that few family preservation evaluations have demonstrated which service components, characteristics, and compositions lead to positive outcomes for families. Proposes a taxonomy and recording instrument for explicating and measuring the process of family preservation services by practitioners and programs in order to improve the…

Offers suggestions for informal formative assessment for the mathematics classroom. Describes classroom activities that allow teachers to assess students' mathematical content knowledge, mathematical processes, and mathematical dispositions. Argues that formative assessment is part of good teaching, making instruction more targeted and more…

Describes how a teacher integrates assessment into every aspect of instruction. Highlights a portion of a unit on linear measurement. (KHR)

This paper reports the use of multi-attribute utility analysis for evaluating the goals and services of a state vocational rehabilitation agency. Uses included: (1) identification and clarification of agency goals and services; (2) engagement of stakeholders in the determination of measurable attributes of these goals; and (3) use of…

Discusses recommendations made by the Expert Panel on Educational Technology, questions how they should be used, and examines the quality of the framework for use as a formative assessment instrument. Considers the focus on schooling and student learning; its use as a national evaluation tool; and its use to develop programs, not just evaluate…

Describes three types of communication assessment: structural assessment; functional assessment; and process assessment. Contends that these traditional approaches are inappropriate for assessing organizational change. Proposes that complexity theory explicitly focuses on evolutionary processes and thus is a more appropriate foundation for…

Case study of a district-level alternative to a state-mandated, administratively oriented, observation-based, summative evaluation of teaching. The alternative formative-evaluation process consists of teacher-developed Professional Development Plans (PDPs). Suggests that PDPs offer a way to resolve the apparent dilemma between teacher supervision…

An evaluation model was developed for an intervention project with mentally handicapped children and their parents involving speech therapists, a speech pathologist, and a psychologist. The model emphasizes transactional and formative approaches to qualitative evaluation, with the goal of increasing understanding of the processes underlying change…

Discusses the need for developmental testing of instructional materials and gives two examples of single-subject testing, one for self-instructional materials and one for short-term group instruction. Guidelines for single-subject testing are presented, and suggestions for longer courses are also given. (LRW)

Describes a flexible planning process for developing computer based instruction (CBI) in which the CBI design is implemented on paper between the lesson design and the program production. A four-stage model is explained, including (1) an initial flowchart, (2) storyboards, (3) a detailed flowchart, and (4) an evaluation. (16 references)…

Assessment is analyzed using the conceptualization of educational evaluation. Ten questions provide the framework for this analysis: the meaning of assessment, purpose of assessment, criteria to judge the merit or worth of what has been assessed, who should be served by assessment, etc. (MLW)

Discussion of a prototype intelligent education system called WOMBAT (Weighted Objectives Method by Arguing with the Tutor) focuses on dialogue and negotiation in collaborative problem solving. The results of a formative evaluation, in which the system was used by 10 subjects who commented on various aspects of the design, are presented. (Contains…

Six British colleges of nursing use a curriculum evaluation approach that combines summative and formative evaluation and uses a modified Delphi technique. The method facilitates a working partnership between student and teacher in which they share the process of systematic monitoring and reviewing of learning programs. (SK)

Discusses results of a survey of 15 educational software developers, which indicate that none of the companies perform any empirical evaluation of their products as part of the development process. Importance and advantages of validation of the effectiveness of a program are considered, and suggestions for encouraging such validation are offered.…