Purpose: A national quality report card for nursing homes, Nursing Home Compare, has been published since 2002. It has been shown to have some, albeit limited, positive impact on quality of care. The objective of this study was to test empirically the hypothesis that nursing homes have responded to the publication of the report by adopting cream…

Background: In 2008 primary education in England reached, historically, another important phase in its development. Government reviewed the primary curriculum and some aspects of the national system of assessment. These government reviews coincided with an independent "Primary Review" based at the University of Cambridge to which the…

The authors contend that blended learning represents a boundary object; a construct that brings together constituencies from a variety of backgrounds with each of these cohorts defining the object somewhat differently. The Sloan-C Pillars (learning effectiveness, access, cost effectiveness, student satisfaction, and faculty satisfaction) provide…

Questionnaires covering evaluation strategies and practices were sent to directors of 200 camps accredited by the American Camping Association. Half received questionnaires designed to collect quantitative data in the form of yes/no responses and Likert scales; the other half received qualitative questionnaires covering the same information in an…

This paper aims to provide a reflective overview of the curriculum developments in teacher education for Scotland in the Division of Technology, Department of Maths, Science and Technology Education, University of Strathclyde. A course in technology must by its very nature be frequently updated and reviewed if it is to be considered to be…

This report complements the Mathematical Association of America's curriculum recommendations about the undergraduate program in mathematics with a case studies approach that describes effective practices in undergraduate mathematics programs. The primary focus of this case studies project is not course content, but more general issues in the…

With the myriad challenges facing parents in recent years, formal parenting training programs have been developed to address parent needs. However, few studies have been conducted to assess the actual effects of participating in such programs. An attempt to develop a better understanding of how informal parental support networks and formal parent…

Based on the theme of assessment, this proceedings presents papers and discussions from the annual meeting of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC). Three papers in the proceedings discussing curricula are: "Model(s) for Educating Professional Communicators" (Marilyn M. Cooper); "Summary of…

This annual report describes the information, technical assistance, and support the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) has provided during 1996. The report also describes the legislative agenda pursued as well as the cooperative projects engaged in. The first section of the report, "Stand Follow-up Action," describes the Stand for Children…

This 25th anniversary annual report of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) describes the work the organization has done to advocate for and educate the United States about the needs of children. The report begins by identifying the CDF's Board of Directors, Fund Management Team, dedication message from the CDF's current president, and the…

This paper examines the role of fine arts education in the school curriculum and advocates the necessity to arrive at a definition of accountability of program effectiveness. The document cites the many advantages students gain from participation in a fine arts program and speaks of the interdisciplinary nature of the arts. The paper discusses the…

Educational researchers often use multiple statistical tests in their research studies and program evaluations. When multiple statistical tests are conducted, the chance that Type I errors may be committed increases. Thus, the researchers are faced with the task of adjusting the alpha levels for their individual statistical tests in order to keep…

An outside evaluator can help an institution open up dialogue and bring about change by focusing the attention of top administrators, faculty, and students on goals seen as important by groups within the institution. Bringing in an outside evaluator to colleges and universities, English departments and writing programs, can be a touchy, often…

This document is an evaluation of the social science program in the Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools. The program is a traditional instructional program that grows conceptually with the student and is designed to meet the needs of students and society. The elementary program meets state guidelines and is the expanding horizon program researched…

Various strategies for optimizing the use of program evaluation information are recommended, based on a thorough evaluation of the literature. The recently revised "Program Evaluation Standards" (Joint Committee, 1994) are then reviewed point by point as regards sensitivity to these recommendations. It appears that the new standards…