This study merged and expanded data from two research databases containing information on former students with mental retardation ranging from mild (N=34) to moderate (N=78) to severe (N=86). Data were obtained from the "Benefit-Cost Evaluation Project" and the "Post School Transition Project." The subjects came from different…

Nearly 15 percent of the high school diplomas issued in the United States in 1981 were based upon performance on the Tests of General Educational Development (GED). The purpose of this study is to describe: (1) the ways that adults prepare for the test; (2) the test performance of population sub-groups, and (3) the test candidates employment and…

As part of an annual statewide evaluation process, quantitative information on community college programs is reviewed by the Maryland State Board for Community Colleges. Subsequently, a qualitative assessment is conducted by individual community colleges in response to specific questions raised by the Board. This report contains evaluations of 48…

In summer 1982, a study was conducted at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) to obtain data on the employment status, educational activities, and opinions about the college of 1978 MCCC graduates. Questionnaires mailed to 601 graduates yielded an overall response rate of 41%. Study findings included the following: (1) 61% of the respondents…

A study examined postsecondary vocational education at Minnesota's area vocational-technical institutes (AVTIs). During the study, researchers evaluated the efficiency and effectiveness of approximately 800 vocational programs offered by the AVTIs with respect to student and teacher ratios, program duplication, completion rates, placement rates,…

An examination is presented of the progress of Maryland's Joint Coordinating Committee for Occupational Education Programs in developing a systematic procedure for the evaluation of the quality of occupational programs in Maryland's community colleges. After presenting the 1976 resolution which established the joint committee, the fiscal year 1987…

The post-school status of 87 individuals with moderate to severe mental retardation was assessed in terms of employment, education, living arrangements, day program participation, community involvement, and friendships. Interviews were conducted with informed respondents (usually parents or group home staff) for 27 individuals who had been out of…

The deterioration of industries in rural America in the 1980s has placed rural youth in a difficult situation. Those who remain in rural areas face a scarcity of good jobs, while those who leave face competition for employment against better-educated metropolitan youth. A study was conducted to: (1) examine the educational experiences of both…

In response to requests by the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board for a systematic approach to student outcomes assessment, and in an effort to identify potential areas for improving the quality of community college education, the State Board for Community College Education conducted a vocational outcomes study in 1989. The study…

A study was conducted of 66,581 students who initially enrolled in Illinois public community colleges in fall 1980 in either baccalaureate/transfer or occupational programs and who earned a baccalaureate degree from a public university in Illinois by 1989. The study did not include transfer students who did not earn a baccalaureate degree or…

Thoughtful follow-up studies of teacher education program graduates can be used effectively. In the study reported here, survey data were collected from recent graduates (N=151) of a small, independent, church-related liberal arts college. The students were participating in their first year of teaching in one of four geographic regions (Idaho,…

Data were consolidated from 11 studies conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) between 1974 and 1981. The studies surveyed a total of 1,939 students, who left WRHC after attending at least one semester, to determine their educational objectives, current activities, employment characteristics, educational activities, and evaluation of…

This paper describes evaluation planning for the Cancer Education Program (CEP) at Ohio State University (OSU). The three-year OSU CEP project was designed as a multidisciplinary cancer education program. A responsive method, which trades off some measurement precision in order to increase the usefulness of the findings, was employed in the…

Accountability in two-year college vocational education assumes that colleges have knowledge of students' goals while they are attending college and have the capacity to follow-up on students to determine whether those goals were achieved. One measure of goal achievement is employment or further enrollment in fields in which students have been…

The five school systems of Louisiana Educational Planning Region V formed a consortium to establish a vocational assessment center for high school special needs students. Assessment data would be used by the Individual Education Plan committee to place students in vocational education courses. A study was conducted to rate the performance of…