Issues involved in empowering evaluation conducted with grass-roots organizations are discussed. One major issue centers on conflicting evaluation standards evaluators and stakeholders may have, and another is whether there is harmony between the empowerment model's goals of evaluation ownership and group advocacy. (SLD)

Presents a way to evaluate the impact of local human services delivery systems and illustrates this logic model through the experiences of an urban United Way organization. This experience suggests that the logic model may have applications in planning when the aim is long-term social objectives through short-term interventions. (SLD)

Outcomes evaluation of community partnerships to prevent substance abuse poses many methodological challenges. The nine articles of this special section illustrate the variety of approaches evaluators have taken to studies that are often complicated because of small sample size. (SLD)

Includes sections written by seminar participants: "Prologue,""Participatory Action Research (PAR)--What Is It?" and "Overall Narrative" (Greenwood); "Gender and Issues of Power" (Matthews, Strubel); "Issues in PAR Pedagogy" (Greenwood); "Participatory Evaluation" (Thomas);…

Describes how faculty and staff at one university collaborated to provide students with career guidance. Discusses a lab which was developed to help students explore issues concerning a major and a career. Looks at lab design; staff, training, and marketing; ways to assist students; and offers a program evaluation. (RJM)

The Program on Noncollegiate Sponsored Instruction and the American Council on Education College Credit Recommendation Service are national methods of evaluating programs and granting credit for learning acquired through noncollegiate organizations. (SK)

Indiana's Community Systemwide Response Initiative trains teams of extension personnel and juvenile justice in community needs assessment and action planning to address juvenile issues. Interviews and focus groups showed that participants valued the partnerships, which resulted in community action and increased services for youth and families. (SK)

An internal learning system (ILS), created for a development organization operating savings/credit programs with poor women, is used for data collection, monitoring, and evaluation. The ILS is participatory, pictorial, decentralized, and flexible; it documents socioeconomic impact and supports action planning. (SK)

Presents a framework of proposed criteria for evaluating policy in the context of postsecondary technical education institutions. Focuses on the institutional level, the policy created at an autonomous college or technical institute. (JOW)

Data from 52 states and territories show that 96% have secondary performance measures/standards as mandated by the Perkins Act. Math, reading, and language are most commonly used as approved measures, as well as work skill attainment and placement. (SK)

Describes the mission, structure, information dissemination, and research program of the 50-year-old National Foundation for Educational Research. Summarizes work in testing, program evaluation, and integration of students with special needs. (SK)

Description and explanation are frequently given precedence over validation when evaluating distance-learning technologies. Evaluation criteria can be categorized into technical, instructional, organizational, and ethical components. Descriptive and explanatory methods include participant observation, interviews, focus groups, document review,…

Examines the three levels of course and program assessment present at the U.S. Air Force Academy, including assessment at the course, departmental, and institutional levels. Points out common elements useful to all assessment efforts. (EV)

Examined the Kirkpatrick evaluation framework (D. Kirkpatrick, 1959) through a case study of a national leadership development program, the Canadian Agriculture Lifetime Leadership Program. Draws conclusions about using the Kirkpatrick framework to evaluate noncredit educational programs, and shows how the framework enabled productive formative…

A 3-year, multimethod evaluation of an innovative arts program that facilitates teaching and interaction between artists and institutionalized juvenile offenders found that youth attending workshops (n=184) displayed significantly less disruptive behavior. Results also suggested that involvement with the arts reduced recidivism for participants.…