IBM has advertised huge reading gains for Writing to Read, an expensive computer laboratory program aimed at improving the reading and writing performance of kindergarten and first grade students. However, the evaluations done to date simply do not support the program's effectiveness at improving young children's reading achievement. (MLH)

Microcomputer simulations in evaluation research are useful for (1) improving student understanding of research principles and analytic techniques; (2) investigating problems arising in research implementations; and (3) exploring the accuracy and utility of novel analytic techniques. This article describes these simulation uses for the context of…

This report describes an analytic training Device Effectiveness Forecasting Technique known as DEFT. DEFT accounts for device effectivness in terms of several different criteria and classes of independent predictor variables. In its present form, DEFT is a series of interactive, menu-driven computer programs that provide for three levels of device…