An Approach to formative evaluation is described that attempts to actively involve students and explore the meaning of processes, activities, and performances in terms of the wide variety of students' perceptions and responses. When poor student performance is not attributable to lack of effort or ability, the need for a more personal…

In order to find reliable methods of ascertaining quality in library service, three public libraries in the Chicago area were assessed using the Rutgers "Performance Measures for Public Libraries." The Rutgers study can reveal the needs and characteristics of library patrons, and may itself be instrumental in increasing patronage. It…

Volume two of the report on the Aesthetic Education Program contains summaries of research and evaluation projects on the program plus reports on teacher education and dissemination of the materials. The research and evaluation section of the report includes formative and summative evaluation summaries and also a list of pilot tests of the…

An educational development team, working at the Center for the Study of Evaluation to produce the Elementary School Formative Evaluation Kit, saw that its mission was not simply to show that a product meets pre-determined performance specifications but was also to ensure that a product can be readily adapted by the user to the "noisy"…

This final report is the 1972-73 evaluation of the ESEA, Title III project to establish regional centers for early childhood staff development in North Carolina. Chapter 1 lists the overall project objectives. Chapter 2 identifies and describes the project management staff. Chapter 3 is concerned with staff development, attitudes, and practices.…

The legislative mandate of Section 507, 1972 Education Amendments (PL 92-318), called for an evaluation and assessment of Title I (1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act) operations and their impact on migrant students. Emphasizing a comprehensive description of program activities, the study did not attempt to measure educational quality by…

An observational monitoring system is described for evaluating preschool programs and providing feedback to relatively untrained caregivers in order to encourage program improvement in the social and cognitive realms. The system utilizes a simple one page observation form for teachers and children detailing interaction and type of activity. Data…

Operational analysis is defined as a part of formative evaluation, taking place while a course is in progress. Student-perceived problems, as reflected by student-initiated reports, are the source of data for this phase of formative evaluation. The self-reporting techniques can reveal individual differences in student/learning-environment…

The Cognitive Developmental Early Childhood program at Pennsylvania State University has formulated a program, curriculum, and evaluation system guided by Piagetian theory. The evaluation system described in this paper is a result of an intensive examination of the purposes and types of evaluation systems for their compatibility with the Piagetian…

The Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) Division of the U.S. Army Signal Center and School (USASCS) at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey evaluated CAI's success in teaching basic electronics. An initial feasibility study, interim assessments, and a summative evaluation assessed the value of the developmental, user-oriented, individualized CAI programs…

The primary objective of this statewide evaluation is to discern weaknesses in Florida's State Plan for the administration of vocational education. If the Florida State Plan is to become more than a seldom-read document prepared solely in compliance with federal funding regulations, overall priorities, procedures, and goals for statewide…

This statewide study achieved the following objectives: (1) It developed a methodology for conducting a benefit-cost analysis of vocational education programs in Florida; (2) It examined, compared, and analyzed public and private costs and benefits of four Florida vocational programs, (3) It compared public and private benefits and costs for…

This paper presents the rationale, techniques, and structure used to develop and implement an evaluation-accountability program for a new regional Education Service Center in Texas. Needs assessment, a critical element in this model, consists of objectively identifying the educational needs of clients and establishing an initial list of…

The Quality Assurance Model for Process Evaluation has been developed by the Southwestern Cooperative Educational Laboratory. It provides educational administrators several alternative techniques for maximizing desired terminal behaviors. By working with project directors, the evaluator helps to assist the program's implementation, providing…

The three papers in this resource guide are oriented to the needs of Spanish-surnamed and Indian children. The first paper points out three concerns to be examined before selecting reading materials: (1) the population for whom selection is planned, (2) criteria emphasizing children's needs, and (3) apparent trends in reading instructional…