In spite of the many teacher evaluation models available and the extensive research on performance appraisal, few community colleges have effectively come to terms with this difficult task. Many administrators prefer to avoid the interpersonal conflict and the possible legal ramifications of performance appraisal. However, in times of limited…

This paper reports on a project involving the development and formative evaluation of an interactive World Wide Web-based learning tool. The interactive graphing tool (IGT) permits students to sketch a graph on screen using a mouse and responds to a wide range of common graph types. The IGT facilitates an iterative approach to understanding…

This book enables educators at the elementary level to conduct formative evaluations of their technology programs in minimum time. Most of the technology is computer related, including word processing, graphics, desktop publishing, spreadsheets, databases, instructional software, programming, and telecommunications. The design of the book is aimed…

A 3-year action research study was conducted by the Spirit River School Division in northwestern Alberta to develop and validate a set of indicators to assess teacher effectiveness in a formative process. Focusing on professional development and staff inservice, the Educational Quality Indicators Project (EQI) sought to determine if the 26…

The results of an evaluation of Vermont's statewide assessment initiative are presented, with information about the implementation of the program, its effects on educational practice, the analytic challenge presented by the portfolio scoring process, the reliability and validity of portfolio scores, and the tensions between assessment and…

In response to the findings and recommendations of a planning conference in 1989, the Department of Energy (DOE) increased its funding of ongoing precollege programs in science and mathematics education and launched some new initiatives. To evaluate and improve its efforts, the DOE has also initiated a 4-year evaluation and technical assistance…

A palliative care support and training network was developed in a relatively isolated country area of the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The project was intended to help palliative care workers, volunteers, home carers, and others work collaboratively as a team (holistic model) for the purposes of mutually supporting, sharing information and…

In fall, 1991, La Frontera Center, the Tucson Council for Alcohol and Drug Dependence, and the Community Organization for Drug Abuse Control were funded to carry out an educational program to reduce alcohol and other drug abuse in the Tucson, Arizona area. The resulting project, Pasos Adelante (Steps Forward), is an early intervention…

The evaluation of teacher inservice education programs is discussed. Evaluation of an inservice program is aimed at answering questions about the program's effectiveness and providing a description of the impact the experience has on the participants. Curriculum evaluation should be concerned with four kinds of decisions: (1) planning; (2)…

The Educational Opportunity Program for At-Risk Students is a statewide initiative of the State of Indiana to expand existing programs or create new programs for at-risk students. The 57 programs improved or initiated in the 1988-89 school year most commonly included tutoring, counseling and support services, or promotion of parent/community…

This document reports the findings of the 1989-90 process evaluation of the Saginaw, Michigan school district's state-funded prekindergarten program for 4-year-olds at risk of academic failure. As of January 29, 1990, a total of 255 pupils were participating in the program at 11 sites. The Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool (MECEP)…

An evaluation of a statewide dropout prevention strategy program with 13 prevention projects conducted by the Louisiana State Department of Education in the 1988-89 school year is presented. Both summative and process evaluations are described. The attitudes of 831 10th-grade students were measured using a pretest and posttest attitude survey…

Despite the fact that students over age 25 will soon comprise the majority in higher education, programming and resource allocation at many universities remain inadequate to meet adult needs. Institutions have also failed to invest in adult education research. At the same time, pressures for objective assessment of student learning in higher…

This process evaluation focused on the compensatory education delivery system in reading and mathematics in the Saginaw (Michigan) School District, which consists of three programs: (1) an elementary academic achievement program that involved 2,105 students, who were taken out of regular classrooms; (2) a secondary academic achievement program…

A formative evaluation was undertaken at an urban community college to determine how an open-admission general studies program should be restructured to better meet student goals and the college's educational objectives. The evaluation process included: interviewing key college representatives to generate hypotheses, and review of the hypotheses…