Process evaluation of the Partners for Prevention pilot project testing an office-based system involving 17 Denver (Colorado) physicians in an effort to increase cancer prevention indicates the value of the program philosophy as well as various deficiencies in its operation. New strategies suggested by the evaluation are being tested. (SLD)

Evaluation of strategic planning programs is illustrated using the examples of statewide forest resource planning programs implemented by state governments in 1986. Client-based perspectives were studied via a survey of 216 officials affected by the forestry planning program. Considering planning's context, process, outputs, and performance helped…

Reviews techniques for evaluating teachers in Britain and other countries, as well as personnel evaluation in industry. Examines the linking of appraisal with pay, promotion, or dismissal. Argues against the accountability model of appraisal and makes a case for formative evaluation. (SK)

Describes the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) approach toward research and development and provides an overview of this issue that highlights CTW. The CTW model of research and development is explained; formative and summative evaluation are discussed; and changing learning environments at home, at school, and in the community are considered.…

Includes "Design of Process Evaluation (PE) within the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health,""Classroom PE in a Multicenter Trial,""Food Service Program PE,""Physical Activity PE,""Family PE,""PE of Environmental Factors and Programs,""Challenges of Conducting PE in a…

Describes the formative-evaluation process for the EuroMET (European Meteorological Education and Training) project, Web-Based university courses in meteorology that were created to address the education and training needs of professional meteorologists and students throughout Europe. Usability and interactive and multimedia elements are…

Two case studies illustrate the use of Level 1 research to monitor and improve the delivery of psychological services. The cases are of a 14-year-old with escalating disruptive behavior, including assault, and a 12-year-old with escalating nocturnal enuresis. The article urges research evaluating Level 1 research techniques and development of…

Discusses the role of formative assessment and feedback on student performance and describes the implementation and use of an assessment system on the World Wide Web for a university psychology course. Reports on usage levels, patterns of use, and feedback from students. (Author/LRW)

Describes the development at Macquarie University (Australia) of rating interpretation guides (RIGs), a method of interpreting student evaluations of teaching. RIGs take into account different teaching contexts and emphasize a range of scores rather than a single mean score. They are seen as appropriate for both formative and summative evaluation…

Describes a small-scale experiment in which five professional writers were asked to revise brochure fragments based on the feedback from readers. Discusses the type of feedback collected from readers and how the experiment focused on the revision phase following formative text evaluation. (SG)

Describes two studies that evaluated the effectiveness of a World Wide Web-based formative assessment package used in undergraduate psychology courses. Students taking online multiple-choice tests received instant feedback, and results showed that students who used the package performed better than those who did not. (Author/LRW)

This article discusses some of the results of the CATCH (Classroom Assessment as a basis for Teacher Change) project. CATCH was meant to develop, apply and scale up a professional development programme designed to change teachers' instruction by helping them change their formative assessment practices. The authors focus on the analysis of three…

Classroom-based assessment is the collection and evaluation of evidence of student learning, focusing on indicators of meaningful and valuable student progress. This type of assessment includes alternative forms of testing, such as performance tasks, which allow students to communicate or display mastery in different forms. According to Herman,…

Scotland's "Assessment is for Learning" initiative (AifL) seeks to introduce a co-ordinated national system for assessment in schools. Formative assessment is a major plank in this. The initiative has moved beyond its pilot phase and it is intended that it will be adopted by all Scottish schools by 2007. This article draws upon the…

The formative Assessment for Learning proposals outlined by Black and Wiliam (e.g. Black et al. , 2002 ) have been well publicised. Since 2002, in its Assessment is for Learning programme, the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) has been exploring ways of bringing research, policy and practice in assessment into closer alignment using…