Four evaluation methods for determining educational policy are objectivism; subjectivism; emotive-imperative; and instrumentalism. For the objectivist, the rationale for undertaking an evaluation is based on empirical verification or non-verification of claims of existing policies or activities. Secondly, the objectivist is interested in…

This guide is intended to assist in the evaluation of career education programs. It has been developed around the concept that the evaluation should be viewed as a management tool for the improvement of program performance. The guide recognizes the key roles of the evaluators and program managers in the evaluation process. It is addressed…

Since the first edition of "Schools and Data", the No Child Left Behind Act has swept the country, and data-based decision making is no longer an option for educators. Today's educational climate makes it imperative for all schools to collect data and use statistical analysis to help create clear goals and recognize strategies for…

Designed for general and special education administrators, teachers, and other education professionals, this book offers a "big picture" of high expectations, assessment, and accountability for students with significant disabilities. Chapters focus on the following eight steps involved in the development and administration of alternate…

Many school reform initiatives now require school leaders to make curriculum and resourcing decisions on the basis of evidence about their likely impact on student achievement. In this paper, we discuss the implications of this policy demand in the context of a descriptive study of schools' capacity to collect, analyze, and use collective…

With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), state education agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) have stepped up activities to broadly expand their data collection and reporting systems. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has advocated strongly for states to build robust student-level longitudinal data systems based on…

This study examined the process of college choice focusing on the earlier stages of the college choice process among 4,923 high school students (3,110 students participated by returning completed surveys) involving 21 high schools in Indiana. The study attempted to: (1) construct a mid-range model representing the search phase of the college…

A summary of the 1966-1979 Southern Youth Study (SYS), a 4-wave longitudinal research project intended to produce information on career development and decision-making processes and influences of rural southern youth from economically-disadvantaged counties, presents data collection procedures, an overview of instruments and variables,…

Use of multiple data sources for evaluation of faculty performance by the DeKalb County (Georgia) School System is described. Focus is on two evaluations, the administrator evaluation and the counselor evaluation; the former has been employed longer than any other component of the evaluation system, while the latter is scheduled for its second…

Information reporting at traditionally black colleges and universities was reviewed, based on the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) files for 36 institutions. The objective was to determine the quality of the data submitted by seven of these institutions, and to suggest actions for improving the quality of the HEGIS information…

A detailed description is provided of the variable information acquisition (IA), which is part of the analysis in phase I of the Evaluation of Practices in Individualized Schooling. The variable is defined; the questionnaires on which the variable is based are listed; the procedures used to scale the variable are explained; the distribution of the…

Directors of educational projects need to be aware of the consequences their decisions may have for evaluation and appreciate the need for working closely with their evaluators from the earliest planning stage. Attempting to address the needs of project directors and evaluators, this guidebook deals with one central aspect of project…

Measuring cognitive achievement gains in project evaluation is dealt with. This guide provides those concerned with project evaluation with the basic tools for conducting technically sound, interpretable evaluation studies. Exotic designs are avoided and five basic models which appear feasible to implement in real-world settings are focused on.…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a project which annually surveys the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of young Americans. Its basic mission is to provide information useful to educational decision-makers and practitioners. The project has contributed to American education, but its assessment results have been of limited…

Decision Oriented Evaluation System (DOES) for community development training presents a system for training evaluation in prototypic form. This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of training evaluation methodology as well as details on specific functions involved in the training evaluation process. This model for evaluation is broken into…