The third of three volumes, this report summarizes the findings of, first, a review and analysis of published literature on performance appraisal in general and particularly on the use of appraisals in public education systems, and, second, a series of field-site investigations of performance appraisal systems in action. The field site studies of…

No issue in schools and communities today commands the concern and urgency of the U.S. public as much as the dangers of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among youth. This guide therefore provides descriptive information on the variety of surveys of student alcohol and other drug use currently available, and delineates the issues involved in…

This publication offers 10 major policy recommendations for improving the evaluation of secondary vocational education programs for special populations and ultimately the programs themselves. In the 10 sections following an introduction, each of the policy areas is introduced by a brief overview. A policy recommendation is then made along with a…

This study investigated the effects of data presentation and an educator's level in the organizational hierarchy on the acceptance of educational program evaluation findings. Educational administrators, principals, teachers, and evaluators (n=210) read and rated a simulated evaluation report on a pilot computer literacy program. Four types of…

This investigation documents the impact of the Van Leer Study, a large-scale evaluation study of achievement in the primary schools of Israel. It is intended to increase understanding of the process of evaluation utilization, showing how evaluation findings and other kinds of information can work together, over time and in a variety of ways, to…

During the 1986-87 school year, the state of Texas implemented the Texas Teacher Appraisal System (TTAS), a comprehensive and generic system for improving instruction. This teacher orientation manual has been developed to increase teachers' knowledge of this new appraisal system. The first section provides an overview of the TTAS, including its…

Oversight information systems provide data to oversight agency managers that enable them to: (1) monitor the operations of agencies for which they are charged oversight responsibilities; (2) compare performance data against set performance criteria; and (3) identify exceptions that occur outside performance tolerance parameters. This research…

The Portland (Oregon) Public Schools Research and Evaluation Department is investigating the use of evaluative data in instructional planning and decision making in schools. The three-year research effort involves training and technical support in effective evaluation use. The first year of the evaluation use research focused on collecting and…

This paper is concerned with the identification and testing of salient variables which show potential for explaining client use of evaluation information. A single-page interview instrument was devised which aggregated the factors and factor categories collected following an extensive review of the literature. Data were collected from a…

Drawing on the research experience of the Dartington Social Research Unit, this paper discusses methods and perspectives used in evaluating English residential institutions for children. Work of the Dartington Social Research Unit has involved evaluating aspects of a wide range of institutions, from elite boarding schools to children's homes and…

In an effort to encourage the participation of educationally disadvantaged youth in the Silicon Valley's high technology employment boom, the Peninsula Academies program was established utilizing a triad-partnership arrangement among the Sequoia Union High School District, high technology employers in the area, and the Stanford Mid-Peninsula Urban…

Formative evaluation focuses on program modification based on ongoing measurement of student progress. The literature on formative evaluation for mildly handicapped students indicates that four measurement dimensions are critical: (1) focus of measurement; (2) frequency of measurement; (3) data display; and (4) data utilization methods. (Author/CB)

Examines research conducted at the British Open University using the research paradigm of phenomenography to discover what students understand about particular concepts in social science. The use of student interviews for formative and summative evaluation is described, and changes in course materials based on the results are discussed.…

A number of research reports and meta analyses on student evaluation of college teaching were reviewed. Student ratings were found to be multidimensional, reliable, valid, and relatively unbiased. Results were useful for feedback, course selection, and personnel decisions. Marsh's Students' Evaluations of Educational Quality (SEEQ) was also…

Describes the use of online accounting systems as a means of integrating diverse data and providing different levels of analysis for managers. An appendix provides examples of reports produced by online systems. (CLB)