This eight chapters of this special issue introduce the use of a template to specify program components as a new tool for program evaluation. The template articulates the components needed for program delivery and provides a systematic method for assessing program implementation. (SLD)

The six chapters of this theme issue attempt to define conceptual and methodological issues in the evaluation of integrated services systems and to begin to synthesize some of these issues. An introduction to these evaluation issues is followed by case studies and a discussion of implications for program and policy development. (SLD)

The increasing use of job training or retraining and employment programs in response to high rates of unemployment in France has spurred interest in program evaluation to see what results have been achieved. The contribution of traditional standardized evaluations and of emerging methodologies is being examined. Traditional evaluation methods…

The extent to which evaluation and auditing have converged on procedures in recent years and the extent to which they remain different are examined in the five chapters of this special issue. Different emphases, the question of collaboration with the subjects of inquiry, and issues of routinized performance are explored. (SLD)

This special issue focuses on several methodological issues in the evaluation of the largest mental health and substance abuse project for children and adolescents conducted at a single site, the U.S. Army's Fort Bragg Child and Adolescent Mental Health Demonstration program. The introduction and seven articles describe this program and the…

The seven articles in this issue represent an approach to multisite evaluation that has much in common with the tradition of clinical trials. However, this approach shares with cluster evaluation an appreciation for the adjustments that are necessary to reflect the realities of conducting evaluation research in actual service settings. (Author/SLD)

Seven articles highlight evaluations that are especially investigative in nature to examine how common elements in these studies can be used to improve evaluation and practice. The evaluator is seen as detective, ethnographer and management consultant, national program monitor and analyst, and international development specialist. (SLD)

The seven chapters of this theme issue explore current developments in research into educational accountability. State educational performance reporting policies, resource allocation for accountability, and educational reforms in Canada, Hong Kong, and Malaysia are discussed. The final chapters consider accountability policy research. (SLD)

This report treats some of the technical difficulties encountered in lexicological studies that were undertaken in order to establish a basic vocabulary. Its purpose is to show that the computer can overcome some of these difficulties, and specifically that computer programming can serve to establish a vocabulary common to scientific and technical…

Types of planning and evaluation information already being gathered by the Office for Student Affairs (OSA), University of Minnesota, and recommendations for new efforts in the measurement of the volume of OSA's activities, the costs of OSA services/functions, and quality of OSA programs are examined. It is suggested that planning information in…

This document consists of the two 2002 issues of the newsletter of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE). Each issue contains a feature article and one or more short articles on topics related to early childhood education, calls for papers, announcements about Internet resources, news items about and list…

This theme issue discusses the misuse of evaluation. The eight articles all discuss instances in which the evaluation process or evaluation findings were misused. Misuse is usually not the result of methodological issues but rather is an issue of human relations and sometimes of political pressure. (SLD)

Described in this newsletter issue are research activities involving the development in Sweden of an indicator model to provide a holistic and comprehensive depiction of schools. Intended for use in continuous follow-up and evaluation activities, the model attempts to mirror the situation in schools by means of existing information expressed as…

Two chapters of this issue consider critical multiplism as a research strategy with links to meta analysis and generalizability theory. The unifying perspective it can provide for quantitative and qualitative evaluation is discussed. The third chapter explores meta analysis as a way to improve causal inferences in nonexperimental data. (SLD)

The educational authorities of the Member States of the European Economic Community have begun to study the evaluation of vocational training programs. The study first will probe two strategic questions: (1) evaluation--to what end and by whom should evaluation be made?; and (2) what should be evaluated? The first program slated to be evaluated is…