This study, commissioned by The Abell Foundation, analyzes new teachers hired by the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) over the past several years. In particular, the study compares different categories of new teachers: those with full professional certification, teachers in alternative certification programs (Teach for America, the…

This paper outlines a procedure for compiling a Natural Resources Inventory to be used in college-level environmental education classes. Topics for lectures, laboratory projects, materials and equipment lists, and alternative information sources are included. (AM)

This article describes the following steps for developing and implementing system-wide behavior support: establishing a foundation for collaboration; building faculty involvement; establishing a data-based decision-making system, brainstorming and selecting strategies within an action planning process; implementing a school-wide program through an…

The presentation of statistics in administrator preparation programs is often irrelevant to administrative realities, fails to integrate appropriate teaching technologies, and stresses inferential statistics over statistical strategies for improving skills in problem analysis, program and student evaluation, data-based decision making, and report…

Due in part to conflicting opinions and research results, the practice of sustained silent reading (SSR) in schools has been questioned. After a frustrating experience with SSR, the author of this article began a data-driven decision-making process to gain new insights on how to structure silent reading in a classroom, including a comparison…

This guide is intended to help develop and implement an outcomes assessment program at the school, district, or state level. An introduction summarizes the purposes of this approach to assessment, which focuses on results rather than process. A four-step process is outlined. The first step is to establish a solid foundation for assessment efforts,…

Papers on statistics which were presented at the 1986 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference include: (1) "Library Data Collection in Brazil (Nice Menezes de Figueiredo, Brazil); (2) "Fact-Finding on Statistics and Reference Tools in Japan" (Yuriko Sugimoto, Chihomi Oka, Ikuko Mayumi, and Keiko Kurata,…

This executive summary of a research project explores the general question of how school districts change their domains through the management of major proposals ("issues"). The study, which focused on case studies of three suburban superintendents' management of five to seven major issues, used raw data consisting of interviews with…

Evaluation within human service organizations is defined in terms of accepted evaluation criteria, with reasonable expectations shown and structured into a model of systematic evaluation practice. The evaluation criteria of program effort, performance, adequacy, efficiency and process mechanisms are discussed, along with measurement information…

To support informational needs of day-to-day and long-range decision-making, many universities have developed their own data collection devices and institutional reporting systems. Often these models only represent a single point in time and do not effectively support needs at college and departmental levels. This paper identifies some of the more…

This dissertation begins with a description of some methods employed in making public-sector resource-allocation decisions, with conclusions on the appropriateness of each method for evaluating the ongoing programs of a school system. The second section has been rewritten and published as "A Comprehensive Theory of Cost-Effectiveness" (EA 002…

The University of Massachusetts has recently developed and implemented a new student opinion survey system. The concept was based on the perceived need of various university decisionmakers for information on student opinion in making various decisions. The purposes of the project were (1) to develop and provide a system whereby a rapid response…

The relationship between the importance of the objectives of a public school reading program and the extent of data collection efforts pertaining to these objectives was examined. The purpose of the study was to determine if the information collected was sufficient for teachers to make a continuous evaluation of the program's ability to meet the…

This report is a description of the instrumentation, methodology, and sample obtained for the final phase of the study concerned with the Occupational Inventory Management Specialist. Inventory managers were asked to keep a Daily Activity Log for five days and to record the range of activities and interaction with others in the process of…

As enrollments in engineering programs soar, many schools have been forced to control enrollment, resulting in a large population of pre-engineering majors. To aid in the understanding and advising of these majors, student profiles reflecting motivation patterns are presented. (MLW)