Libraries devote serious resources to user-education programs and need to measure their effectiveness with hard data. This guide was designed to simplify the evaluation planning process and the making of evaluation instruments. The material was developed from hundreds of survey instruments used by librarians around the country. The handbook…

Presents an "infobase" version of "A Pilot Standard National Course Classification System for Secondary Education" to allow users to browse, search, annotate, print, and export information electronically. This publication is the culmination of a major effort to help establish common terminology, descriptions, and a coding…

This paper outlines purposes of program evaluation and provides practical information to help individuals from a wide spectrum of backgrounds use evaluation to move their program ahead in a purposeful manner. Wisely moving ahead requires an assessment of an organization's past and present as well as an examination of its assumptions about the…

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a data collection system of the National Center for Education Statistics. The NHES is a telephone survey of the noninstitutionalized civilian population using households selected using random digit dialing methods. Approximately 60,000 households are screened for each administration, and people who…

Little is known about teachers' reflections on current reform efforts in real classrooms (Cuban, 1993). This study describes methodology and data on teachers' efforts to implement a 4-year secondary mathematics reform curriculum at a statewide level. The methodology uses vignettes in an attempt to retain the best part of careful observational…

As part of a high-risk youth grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the Southwest Regional Laboratory developed and implemented a survey of alcohol sales establishments. The purpose was to assess the availability of alcohol in the community and changes in availability over time that may have an impact on findings related to project…

This handbook is an effort to establish current and consistent terms, definitions, and classification codes to maintain, collect, report, and exchange comparable information about students. It is a reference guide to those concerned with the collection of student data. Definitions reflect a consensus about best practice in the field of education…

Receiving and Processing Information Directly (RAPID) is a directory designed to facilitate the identification of interstate migrant families. The directory contains instructions for using the RAPID notification form, a means of rapidly communicating intended destinations of migrant families. Use of the form is designed to help identify interstate…

Every opportunity should be taken to communicate research findings both inside and outside government programs and make them accessible to policy makers, teachers, lecturers, parents, and employers. The "Interchange" series aims to further improve the Educational Research Unit's (ERU) dissemination of the findings of research funded by…

The Steering Committee of the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative established a Unit Record versus Aggregate Data Working Group in 1996 to identify and assess data sharing methods that are needed to advance the understanding of how postsecondary students are served, and with what outcomes. Most mandated record sharing has been through…

This brief report cites the grade of "poor" given to the United States educational system on the third of the six National Education Goals proposed by the President and the Governors in 1990 of demonstrating student competency in key subject areas and preparing students for responsible citizenship. Results on math competency tests as…

Because advances in medical science can lead to rapid changes in current health knowledge, a library collection of medical science materials can become dated rather quickly. This factor, as well as the many variables of library use and operation which impact the availability of current materials on the library shelves--loan periods, weeding…

The Curriculum Assessment and Development Project in the Virginia Beach (Virginia) Public Schools is summarized. It was a comprehensive study involving students, parents, teachers, and administrators in considering two key curricular questions: "What kind of person do we want to produce?" and "What knowledge is of most worth?"…

The Missing Children Act, H.R. 6976, is intended to establish a central repository of information to assist state and local officials in identifying all missing persons, including children. Children are more difficult to identify than adults because they generally do not maintain such common identifiers as drivers licenses or social security…

This guide for pupil personnel administrators, provides procedures, timelines, resources, and sample statistical tables for conducting a needs assessment to meet the Illinois State Board of Education requirement. Basic recommendation procedures for conducting a pupil personnel services (PPS) needs assessment are identified as follows: (1) organize…