The effects of a multi-phased assessment on the management and modification of Federal special education programs and policy is discussed. The purposes and methodology of the three-part assessment procedures (evaluability assessment, rapid feedback assessment, and the performance monitoring system) are presented. This is followed by a description…

The choice of methods is part of the overall evaluation design process. The process consists of the following steps: (1) analyzing the problem context; (2) asking a few general questions; (3) selecting the methods (strategies) to use; and (4) selecting the specific techniques (tactics) to use. To operate successfully the evaluator needs to know…

A discussion of the relationship of second language course content and testing focuses on the instruction and assessment of language proficiency. Basic principles of measurement of proficiency and syllabus design for proficiency and their implications are examined. An approach is recommended to syllabus design that has the learner's real needs at…

Local evaluations of clinical training programs in psychology are generally conducted from a formative perspective, necessitating careful examination of the training structure, process, and results. To learn about and document the extent of local training evaluation enterprises, two national surveys that solicited general program information,…

This critique addresses conventional approaches to evaluation of vocational teacher education through a review of research that has components of evaluation, with specific emphasis on vocational teacher education progams. A review in the 1986 handbook by Lanier and Little, "Handbook of Research on Teaching," was used as the framework, citing…

Extended hospital stay after medical treatment has been completed represents a major problem in health care. Space misuse can occur late in the hospitalization, often because planning is not initiated until discharge is imminent. This study sought to determine if variables assessed soon after hospital admission could be used to screen patients at…

Recent commission and task force reports calling for educational improvement may carry more weight than their content deserves because of their sources. The findings of these commissions vary since each commission has its own concept of education, its own political purposes, and its own sources of data. Still, their general recommendations stress…

The evaluation process within special education, as in general education, most often becomes one of data collection consisting of formal and informal tests given by the school psychologist and the classroom instructor. Influences of the complex environment on the educational process are often ignored. Evaluation factors include mainstreaming,…

This investigation employed an in-basket simulation to assess the effect of provisional analysis on the use of evaluation data by program administrators in making program decisions. Sixty-five volunteers from graduate education courses and 52 volunteers from undergraduate educational psychology classes at Western Kentucky University were randomly…

California state officials vary in their perceptions of the functions and uses of state Department of Education evaluations, according to state legislators, legislative staff members, department administrators, and outside evaluators whose opinions were gathered through interviews and at a 1981 symposium. Highlighted here are the legislators'…

A new role for evaluators is proposed, which reconstructs the evaluator into an information specialist who is part of a project team engaged in self evaluation. The evaluator's role has traditionally been complicated by disagreements about what is expected from the evaluator; by differing perceptions about the evaluator's power to effect change;…

This report by the President's Commission reviews literature on educational international exchanges and makes recommendations for further research. International exchanges include exchanges in both directions and at all levels: high school, college undergraduate and graduate studies, and overseas teaching and research by school, college, and…

A project was conducted to develop a model for evaluating local vocational education programs in Missouri. Concerns of the project were formation of evaluation criteria, development of standard statements and indicators to operationalize the system, and securement of expert consensus on the criteria and standards. A Project Advisory Committee…

This document contains the abridged proceedings of a workshop on the evaluation of ESEA Title I programs, which are designed to improve education for disadvantaged children. Thirty-nine participants from 24 States attended the workshop. The workshop's 14 papers and four discussion excerpts are organized under four main headings: (1) Title I…

Efforts to evaluate the extent to which twelve characteristics of the University of Houston's Professional Teacher Preparation Program (PTPP) had been implemented during the 1976-1977 academic year are described. The PTPP had been built on the assumption that an instructional system in teacher education would be more effective if it were…