A study of school district uses of evaluation and test data is used to illustrate the variety of ambiguities that can appear in qualitative data. Rules of evidence to distinguish valid and potentially nonvalid testimony are proposed. Uses of testimony in evaluation are discussed. (BS)

Federal evaluations in education contributed in numerous and important ways to changes in law, regulation, and management. Information about implementation contributed most often, but information about outcomes, cost, and federal administration also made contributions. These findings differ from previous research that concluded evaluations do not…

This document is a chapter in "The Principles and Practice of Educational Management," which aims to provide a systematic and analytical introduction to the study of educational management. The structure of the book reflects the main substantive areas of educational leadership and management, and most of the major themes are covered in…

Mainstreaming evaluation requires establishing aesthetic and ethical frameworks, as well as knowledge and skills, that make "doing" evaluation seem like the right thing. Evaluators and others have worked hard to institute evaluation as a prudent activity for society to support. The phenomenon of mainstreaming itself, however, poses…

Conducting and analyzing a school culture audit can be a useful diagnostic tool and can enhance the impact of a school improvement plan. This paper describes the administration of a school culture audit and describes the use of the culture audit results to begin interaction with stakeholders relative to the school improvement process. The emphasis…

This paper describes the Edina School District Profiles, which are composed of multiple indicators from survey data, assessment data, and school demographics. This paper focuses on student/staff/parent surveys and shows how these surveys were developed to represent student, staff, and parent satisfaction levels, needs, perceptions, and opinions on…

This report describes a computer tool used by the state of New York to assess student performance in elementary and secondary grades. Based on the premise that every assessment is a system of interacting elements, the tool examines students on six dimensions: vision, prompt, coaching context, performance, standards, and reflection. Vision, which…

A combination of traditional reading, media, and Internet information sources is necessary in today's educational sphere to bridge cultural differences, engage students' realms of experience, and promote academic and cultural literacy. A key issue for educators today is to utilize and extend the vehicles students are currently using in order to…

The "CSE Program Evaluation Kit" is a series of nine books intended to assist people conducting program evaluations. This volume, the seventh in the kit, provides an overview of a variety of approaches to measuring performance outcomes. It presents considerations in deciding what to measure and in selecting or developing instruments best suited to…

This book, intended for the interested layman and the education professional, describes the process and content of standards-driven education reform. It is based on the premise that schools can excel if they benchmark their standards, align their curriculum, and conduct academic analysis to assess progress. Only the highlights appear in the hard…

This paper explores the implications of "user-focused evaluation" by examining the information utilization dynamics of the evaluation of the Caribbean Agricultural Extension Project. (BW)

The author discusses several dimensions of evaluation utilization in educational settings as a step toward clarifying the meaning of the term. Definitions of evaluation and utilization are offered, distinctions are made between use and utilization, and the processes necessary for determining if an evaluation use is a true utilization are outlined.…

In view of social processes, politics and the logistics of conducting evaluations, several implicit assumptions of the field challenged by findings on innovation implementation are reviewed. These studies have major implications for evaluation practice, evaluator roles, the use of evaluation results, and the federal role in evaluation. (Author/CM)

Not all data for a program evaluation may be equally valuable, and costs of collection may vary when using several methods to obtain data from several sources. An approach to maximize information yield for a fixed, limited budget using a mathematical technique known as linear programming is described and generalized. (Author/CM)

Describes the range of policies, criteria, and weightings used in the process of selecting among candidates for admission in 19 public and private colleges and universities. Notes the need for adequate communications between colleges and the schools previously attended by candidates. (PGD)