Effective teacher evaluations serve the dual function of being both summative and formative (Danielson & McGreal, 2000). The current evaluation tool in Virginia uses a traditional approach of incorporating standardized test scores as forty percent of a measure of teacher effectiveness. By way of a literature review, this article applies a…

This document compiles information from multiple sources to offer readers a snapshot of Preschool Development and Expansion Grant (PDG) states' progress towards implementing a full comprehensive assessment system, as well as the tools they are using for each of the components.

The Vocational Education Evaluation in Virginia (VEEVA) evaluation procedures were studied. Data from questionnaires completed by evaluation coordinators were organized and are presented in the article. Recommendations and implications provide insights into the improvement of evaluation systems. (DWH)

A three-part evaluation plan is presented for the occupational clusters approach to career orientation project, which attempted to design and field-test a two-semester curriculum package for orienting junior high students to the world of work. Project effectiveness will be estimated at three points in its development. In the laboratory setting…

This review examined the evaluation components from 10 awarded state improvement grants designed to improve systems providing services for students with disabilities. The review examined the following aspects of the evaluation components: purposes, conceptual framework for the evaluation and systems reform, evaluation design and approaches,…

The primary objective of the Vocational Education Evaluation Project (VEEP) is to develop a management information system for the planning and programing of vocational education. The work has been divided into a macro-system (primarily concerned with guidelines and systematic procedures at the State level) and a micro-system (emphasizing the…

This document is one of a series of reports which describe the experiences of six state agencies that are developing systems to affect the development and implementation of policy in the federal/state program for vocational rehabilitation. The state programs are developing model program evaluation/management information support units. This second…

The nature of educational evaluation and its interaction with policy in six state departments of education is examined. Case reports of research and evaluation units are presented for Virginia (by Gerald W. Bracey), Michigan (by David L. Donovan and Stanley A. Rumbaugh), Washington (by Alfred F. Rasp, Jr.), South Carolina (by Paul D. Sandifer),…

This year the Center on Education Policy analyzed data on the achievement of different groups of students in two distinct ways. First, it looked at grade 4 test results to determine whether the performance of various groups improved at three achievement levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced. Second, it looked at gaps between…

The regulations interpret Virginia's special education legislation as well as P.L. 94-142, the Education For All Handicapped Children Act. Responsibilities of the State Department of Education, including preparing and submitting for approval the Amended Annual Program Plan for the Education of the Handicapped, are considered. The bulk of the…

This document reports on Virginia's progress toward the development of model child care programs in rural communities. An introduction providing background information is followed by a discussion of the project model, project goals, quality child day care in Caroline County, and the methodology of the project evaluation. Subsequent discussion…

Measuring History complements the cases presented in Wise Social Studies Practices (Yeager & Davis, 2005). Yeager and Davis highlight the rich and ambitious teaching that can occur in the broad context of state-level testing. In this book, the chapter authors and I bring the particular state history tests more to the fore and examine how…