A career development course focused on self-, leisure, and occupational awareness was tested with 22 adolescent offenders with mental retardation, learning disabilities, or behavioral disorders. Compared to 20 controls, experimentals increased self-esteem and career salience in homemaker roles. (SK)

This guide provides evaluators interested in new methods with a framework for determining the feasibility, utility, and effectiveness of the methods in field settings. To accomplish this intent, the body of this guide contains discussions of five checklists. Three of the checklists are to be used before a trial to determine the feasibility of one…

Describes a field test conducted by the North Carolina Office of Day Care Services to examine the relative merits of telecommunications and traditional training in a realistic setting. Compares costs, time needed for training, and trainees' attitudes. Also discusses location of teleconference centers, content development, frequency of delivery,…

The purposes of this research study were to develop and field test anchor-based judgmental methods for enabling test specialists to estimate item difficulty statistics. The study consisted of three related field tests. In each, researchers worked with six Law School Admission Test (LSAT) test specialists and one or more of the LSAT subtests. The…

An assumption that immigrant and American-born adolescents experience similar, normal psychological development processes was examined through a two-part research study that: (1) gathered normative data on ego development, identity and moral reasoning; and (2) field-tested an experimental curriculum intended to stimulate development in these…

Presents a two-part instructional materials selection process for public schools, incorporating a field trial phase and based on considerations from the design and formative evaluation of competency-based instruction. A comparison between the materials selection guidelines published by the state of Florida and the paper's own recommendations is…

Using the generalized partial-credit item response theory (IRT) model, polytomous items from the 1991 field test of the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading test were calibrated with multiple-choice and open-ended items. Polytomous items provide more information than dichotomous items. (SLD)

Describes three applications of CD-ROM technology for publishing and distribution of U.S. Army forms and automation of the AD PAM 25-30, a microfiche index to the publications and forms. The production, field test, and evaluation phases of the project are discussed. Several lessons learned are summarized. (MES)

From a sample of 425 employees, 48 percent used the computer-based Employee Development Planning System over 6 months. A follow-up survey found that (1) system users were significantly more involved in career planning activities; (2) usefulness of the program enabled employees to match themselves with career opportunities; and (3) age/career stage…

In 2006, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) to improve the school readiness of Washington State's children through three main strategies: (1) development of high-quality, community-wide early learning initiatives in two communities; (2) enhancement of statewide systems that support early…

Before vocational instructional products are adopted for statewide dissemination in South Carolina, they must undergo a field test. An effective field test design incorporates collection of data about the instructional products, the students, and the teachers who use the products. The design of a control group and an experimental group compares…

A field test was conducted to examine the efficiency of a paper-and-pencil television diary for collecting viewer evaluations of public and commerical television programs. Six hundred individuals in Boston, Massachusetts, kept qualitative viewing diaries for one week. The results indicated high and enthusiastic cooperation by the total sample. The…

The final report describes a project to facilitate the efficiency with which legally blind persons use their remaining vision. The project developed a diagnostic assessment procedure, a design for instruction which includes 150 sequenced lessons, and a sourcebook on low vision. The reliability and validity of the diagnostic assessment procedure…

A procedure was developed for on-site evaluation of replications of exemplary programs that emphasized the replication of the functions accomplished rather than the processes performed. Program functions are defined as operational purposes. A functional analysis begins with identifying program components; describing them fully; and then listing…

Makes a case for the production of printed subject indexes and describes the MICROSPI package, which allows the production of NEPHIS (NEsted PHrase Indexing System) and KWAC (Key Word And Context) indexes on a microcomputer. (Author/MBR)