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)

The McREL Technology Initiative (MTI) was launched by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) in response to a concern in the Central Region 1 and across the nation: that schools lack the appropriate technological guidance, resources, and professional development programs to support them in becoming high-performing learning…

This report describes the methodology and findings of the NSOPF:04 field test that took place during the 2002?03 academic year. The NSOPF:04 field test was used to plan, implement, and evaluate methodological procedures, instruments, and systems proposed for use in the full-scale study scheduled for the 2003-04 academic year. The field test was…

The success of state assessment programs depends on how well the results are reported to their various audiences. This paper presents 11 guidelines for improving reporting practices, including: plan ahead; develop different reports for different audiences; and field test report formats, language, and content. (BW)

The Episode of Purposive Change Model was used to evaluate the statewide redesign of human services for vulnerable children/families. Significant findings included the following: (1) community context is important; (2) long-term change requires keeping the initiative on the community agenda; and (3) participants must remain focused on ultimate…

Describes the criteria used by optical disk (CD-ROM) database publishers to select test sites; the responsibilities of and benefits to test site libraries; and plans for future use of test sites. The experiences of Texas A&M University are discussed and suggestions are offered to libraries wishing to become test sites. (CLB)

Describes a process and instrument developed by the Children's Bureau of Los Angeles to evaluate its in-home family support program. The agency has combined case assessment, reporting and recording, evaluation structure, and research data collection in one instrument and one case-long process. (RJC)

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.…

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument, the "Job Seeking Self-Efficacy Scale," to measure perceived self-efficacy in job-seeking activities. The construction of the instrument, which incorporated tasks that have been determined to be important in job seeking for individuals with disabilities, was based on Bandura's theory of…

The Universal Design for Play (UDP) Tool is an instrument designed to evaluate the presence of universal design (UD) features in toys. This study evaluated its psychometric properties, including content validity, construct validity, and test-retest reliability. The UDP tool was designed to assist in selecting toys most appropriate for children…

American national standards for the evaluation of educational programs were developed by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation in 1994. This paper describes the Joint Committee's standard setting process. The Joint Committee is a coalition of professional organizations concerned with the quality of evaluations in education.…

These two evaluation updates cover segments of the third phase of the Apprenticeship Training Materials Clearinghouse project, which is being conducted at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. The first update evaluates activities related to the following project objectives: conduct a field test on clearinghouse services; revise the model…

This paper posits a taxonomy for categorizing issues that arise in the evaluation of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs). The taxonomy has three dimensions: Life Cycle of Evaluation, Research Issues, and Methodological Issues. The Life Cycle dimension has four levels: pre-experimental, laboratory study, field study, and initial operational test…

Test items are designed to be representative of the subject areas that they measure and to reflect the importance of specific domains or item types within those subject areas. Content validity is achieved by content specification and number of items in each content domain included in the design of the test. However, largely due to the normal…

In order to determine the extent to which the LOGO programming language can be used as a reinforcer for general problem solving ability, this field study used a production theory approach to problem solving as a conceptual model, and then translated the model into a LOGO oriented framework. The methodology tested the use of an algorithm in a…