In his focus article, "Rethinking Traditional Methods of Survey Validation," published in this issue of "Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives," Andrew Maul introduces and discusses several foundational issues and concludes that self-report measures may be particularly difficult to validate and may fall short…

This article emphasizes the urgent demand for measurements of university internationalization and proposes a new approach to develop a set of internationally applicable indicators for measuring university internationalization performance. The article looks into existing instruments developed for assessing university internationalization,…

William Massy is an emeritus professor and former Vice President for Business and Finance at Stanford University, Teresa Sullivan is President of the University of Virginia, and Christopher Mackie is a Study Director with the National Academies' Committee on National Statistics. This article summarizes the authors' recent National Research Council…

Every university and nonprofit in the country is interested in raising more money. Many universities spend millions of dollars to hire experienced staff, build databases, and pay for prospect travel. The question becomes, What is the return on investment? With significant and sometimes drastic budget cuts, university programs are increasingly…

This article examines the relative production efficiency of school districts in Georgia using the modified quadriform method. Overall, we find that the modified quadriform allows state-level policymakers to access a basic tool for analysis that makes relative comparison of school district productivity for use in policy analysis and policy…

Using a reduced form version of a theoretical expansion of Hoxby's (1996) education production model, we investigate whether bargaining teachers unions are a boon or a bust to the economy of the state. We anticipate teachers, being in the public sector veiled from competition, are less likely to be efficient. Yet, their product, education,…

The Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) was developed to provide a model for systematic evaluation of educational programs to determine their effectiveness in achieving goals and objectives. This paper demonstrates the applicability of the PMI model at the project level. Fresh Start Minischool at Ballou High School (District of…

The rationale for the Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) is the subject of this paper. The Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools requested a model for systematic evaluation of educational programs to determine their effectiveness. The school system's emphasis on objective-referenced instruction and testing,…

All of the papers presented as part of a symposium concerned the application of the Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) to the evaluation of the District of Columbia Public Schools' programs supported by the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title IV-C. PMI was developed to provide a model for systematic evaluation of…

Threshold analysis (TA) is introduced as an evaluation model. TA converts unknown variables into questions as to whether a given benefit, cost, or success probability is more or less than a threshold, above which the proposed project would be profitable, and below which it would be unprofitable. (Author/PN)

Each of the divisions of the Office of Educational Accountability in the District of Columbia Public Schools was required to submit an evaluation design that would be used to measure division accomplishments at the end of the school year. Since the Division of Research and Evaluation had already completed the development of the Planning,…

A "second best" approach, reintroducing educational productivity analyses into school finance reform strategies, may help to promote efficiency in the provision of educational services. The limitations of analysis models and measurement of equity and efficiency are discussed. (Author/CM)

The design of the Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) and the aspects of the model that make it useful in public schools are the topics of this paper. After the objectives of a program or operation have been identified, the model specifies three additional pieces of information that are needed for an evaluation: inputs, processes,…

A practical application of the Planning, Monitoring, and Implementation Model (PMI) is illustrated in the evaluation of the District of Columbia Public Schools' Student Progress Plan. The plan adheres to the principle that the student be encouraged to move along an instructional continuum at his or her individual rate. The Division of Research and…