When implementing large-scale educational computing initiatives (e.g., One Laptop Per Child) it is vital to allocate resources for training, support, and device deployment judiciously. One question that arises is how learners' engagement with online educational resources is affected by receiving a new computer; do the benefits justify the costs?…

This testimony discusses the findings from our recent work on fragmentation, overlap, and potential duplication in federally funded programs that support teacher quality. We recently issued a report addressing fragmentation, overlap, and potential duplication in federal programs that outlined opportunities to reduce potential duplication across a…

The Rural Initiative Program funds projects addressing specific rural education problems. Sample projects, chosen both by matching programs to selection criteria and by competition, include: staff development improvement, tele-teaching, expanded rural course offerings, and school-based entrepreneurship. This paper discusses cost analysis…

The paper focuses on the Title I Evaluation Technical Assistance Centers to illustrate issues of measuring costs and deciding on outcome criteria before promoting "cost-effective" approaches. Effects are illustrated for varying resource allocations among personnel, travel, materials, and phone costs as a function of emphasizing…

In 1990, the Satellite Telecommunications Educational Programming (STEP) Network in Spokane (Washington) joined with state education agencies from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington to form the Pacific Northwest Star Schools partnership for distance education. The STEP network offers telecast courses to 500 schools, 90% of which are in…

This paper raises three broad issues,each with sub-areas. First, what are the consequences of measuring and evaluating the parts of higher education that can be satisfactorily measured? What are the consequences for the parts of education that can not be measured, and for the total enterprise? Second, what kind of assessment systems will be best…

Teacher educators everywhere are examining programs and delivery modes as a result of a decade of studies and commissions on the reform of teacher education. However, for teacher education policy makers in settings like Mauritius there are two special issues to be considered in the examination of the teacher education process. The first relates to…

The findings from a series of case studies of nine successful demonstration programs are summarized. The programs, funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission, included child development, vocational education, technology, economic development, and housing. The primary purpose of the case studies was to discover what makes programs successful. A…

Although two economic methods, cost effectiveness and benefit-cost analysis, are frequently mentioned as useful tools for educational decision making, only one, cost effectiveness, has potential for making a contribution to this field. A benefit-cost analysis tries for each alternative to measure benefits and costs, which are then discounted to…

Problems when developing and operating a successful student assessment program are described. Potential problems and solutions in three major areas are examined: the purposes and definitions of assessment, program implementation, and assessment designs and methods. (Author/MLW)

The political processes involved in an academic program evaluation are discussed. The focus is on how evaluative information is politically linked to programmatic decisions within the context of various organizational and evaluative utilization models. To examine the explanatory power of the various theories and models, information from a program…

This study investigated communities in 10 randomly selected states to determine the extent to which Local Public Works (LPW) funds, which were disbursed according to procedures intended to benefit areas of unemployment and provide assistance for the chronically unemployed, were actually received in targeted low income or high minority areas. The…

A study investigated the reading comprehension levels, aptitude scores, high school graduation status, and years of education of United States Navy recruits and the relationship among these variables. Data for the study were obtained from the monthly computer managed instruction system reports on Navy recruit characteristics, which in turn is…

Viable reading education programs require faculty who not only know the field but also remain sensitive to the many forces controlling program survival. A program will function well only if the administration clearly articulates the management process, responds intelligently to market trends, and includes faculty input in decision making. Among…

The suggestions offered in this paper are based on the experiences of two scientific researchers of how evaluations undertaken in a competitive arena, in which true experimental designs are not viable, can be designed in such a way that meaningful comparative data can be examined. Case studies of the Science and Engineering Research Semester and…