Conducting research about camp programs begins with asking a question and determining the nature of the question--whether it requires a needs assessment, an evaluation process, original data, or a cost/benefit analysis. Discusses factors to consider in deciding whether to allow existing staff members to conduct a study, or to contract with an…

South Carolina's Agricultural Service Laboratory received responses from 252 of 500 farmers who currently use the soil testing service; 97% were pleased with accuracy, 89% with turnaround time, 18% thought the fee too high. Nonusers (100 of 520) were mainly dissatisfied with turnaround time. Total quality management methods were used to improve…

Interviews with university, state, and local educators highlighted some of the admirable qualities of tech prep (relevance, value to non-college-bound students) and some barriers (lack of standards/guidelines, articulation problems, need for inservice training and employer involvement). (JOW)

This article addresses assumptions that currently guide personnel training and technical assistance in organizations providing services to people with disabilities. Implications of a quality improvement perspective are then considered as they apply to new perspectives on roles, on decision-making processes, and on evaluation. (DB)

Drawing on a realistic model for evaluating compensatory education effects, Chapter 1 staff members have developed a workshop series aimed at improving the effectiveness of local Chapter 1 programs. Improvement efforts are to be data driven, research based, team centered, locally controlled, systematic, and focused on student outcomes. (20…

Refutes three evaluation myths--(1) evaluation is findings; (2) outcomes are hard to measure; and (3) evaluation is an add-on--with three principles: (1) evaluation is a learning process; (2) soft data about important issues are better than hard data about unimportant issues; and (3) meaningful evaluation is integrated into teaching and learning.…

Four conditions for creating or refining alternative teacher certification programs are improving instruction, addressing shortages of qualified teachers, placing teachers in hard-to-staff schools, and measuring teacher competence. Programs should be pragmatic, market sensitive, embedded in the learning context, and performance driven. (SK)

Briefly reviews counseling profession's call for revitalization and transformation in school counseling and guidance programs. Summarizes one school system's efforts during late 1980s and early 1990s to transform its program from services and crisis orientation into a comprehensive developmental model based on Myrick's developmental guidance and…

Cooperative education as work-based learning has been around for decades. Co-op programs can be revitalized by using electronic communications with employers and customizing classroom assignments so they relate to students' work tasks. (Author/JOW)

Suggests a framework of six steps that can be used as a starting point to improve a secondary theater program to meet mandated standards: define motivation, study the standards, analyze the present program, create a planning team, determine student goals, and revise the curriculum. (PA)

The vision of continuing professional education should be reframed to place development of expertise and improvement of professional practice at the core. Providers would offer market-driven services that include education, evaluation, and consultation. (SK)

A master plan for updating keyboarding programs must ensure that five components work together: learner, teacher, curriculum, resources, and administration. Periodic evaluation ensures that the program is providing the skills needed. (SK)

Purpose: To propose an evaluation model for the quality implementations in higher education through an analysis of quality systems and program evaluation using a systems approach. Design/methodology/approach: Theoretical background, research and practice of the quality systems in higher education and program evaluation are analysed in conjunction…

The New Mexico Rural Revitalization Initiative (NMRRI), an innovative program to enhance the growth and development of rural communities, involves schools and students as part of a holistic approach. The program requires community members to take responsibility for revitalizing their economy and fosters an entrepreneurial spirit among students.

A pair of Ohio school districts, a short drive down Interstate 70 from each other, share similar goals. Each wants to improve student achievement by strengthening curriculum and instruction and giving teachers and principals the tools to make it happen. But the Huber Heights and Brookville school systems diverge in their approach to meeting those…