Steps in presenting evaluation recommendations are outlined. The steps include the following: the development of effective recommendations, the presentation of effective recommendations, and the effective following up of recommendations. (TJH)

Explores the role of critical evaluation in education reform, reviewing three contemporary perspectives on evaluation and showing how mainstream and contemporary evaluations can serve social and political values. Also considers the methodology of critical evaluation as it relates to the practice of freedom and the ways people deal with reality.…

Reviews critical dimensions in evaluation that emerge from efforts to promote use within a context of stakeholder participation. Case examples illustrate two potentially problematic domains: stakeholder selection and depth of stakeholder involvement. (Author/SLD)

The "use of evaluation" once meant the use of evaluation results for making program decisions, but there is a new awareness of the possibility of using many aspects of evaluation. This paper highlights the importance of considering additional prospective users of evaluation, including organizers, client groups, and civil society. (Author/SLD)

Examined the stages of evaluation practice and use at a national multisite community service program with an internal evaluation department. Reviews challenges to evaluation use and organizational supports for it and discusses the integrated theory of use of K. Kirkhart (2000) at both site and national levels. Summarizes lessons learned in this…

In a survey of 128 manufacturing employees, the perception that performance appraisal had developmental uses was associated with satisfaction with appraisals and appraisers. Reaction to the evaluation did not depend on the outcome of the appraisal or its perceived fairness. (SK)

Describes six inquiries in the social sciences, both old and new, that show how evaluation can be conducted and what it can achieve. Draws six lessons from these studies that should lead to an evaluation culture that is more painstaking and an evidence base that is more cumulative. (SLD)

It is hard to overestimate the significance of the master planning process. The process is one of the most salient strategies that the Maryland State Department of Education utilizes for improving student achievement and closing the achievement gap. Until recently, many local school systems (LSSs) treated planning as a local endeavor that merely…

Using data to redesign instruction is a means of increasing student achievement. Educators in Camden County (Georgia) Schools have used data from benchmark testing since 1999. They hired a commercial vendor to design a benchmark test that is administered four times a year and use the data to generate subject-area reports that can be further…

This guide is designed to inform school directors about the value of a data dashboard and to provide information on how districts can create a data dashboard for school directors. A data dashboard is a tool for viewing and analyzing student achievement and performance data. Key data for monitoring student achievement and directing policy level…

Elementary general music teachers typically teach hundreds of students every week. Each child has individual learning needs due to a variety of factors, such as prior experiences with music, music aptitude, learning style, and personality. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore ways that experienced teachers used assessments to…

This paper reviews what has been learned about evaluation ultilization during the past 20 years. Evaluation utilization is discussed in terms of what is used, who uses evaluation, when evaluation is used, how evaluation is used, where evaluation is used, and why evaluation is used. It is suggested that the personal factor - the interests and…

Highlights contributions sociologists can make to major social issues through an emphasis on theoretical ideas and analysis in graduate education. Concludes that recognition of the relationship between theoretical ideas and research procedures is necessary for greater sociological contributions. (Author/DH)

The school review program includes evaluation of the principal's performance, observation of all teachers and programs, school climate analysis, parental preferences and suggestions, and recommendations and planning reports. Recommendations fall into three categories: maintenance, consideration, and problem areas. The program is used in the Red…

Two examples from the law enforcement field are presented in support of Ginsberg's (TM 508 964) view that social dysfunctionality follows from the attempt to distribute scarce resources in a manner that appears politically legitimate. (BW)