The purpose of this investigation (special field project) was to seek out theoretical and research-proven foundations pertaining to needs assessment activities and their potential impact upon the development and implementation of a Division of Student Affairs Professional Development Program. It was discovered that the activity is highly…

This is the final report of one of three studies in an overall project entitled "Evaluation of Bilingual Education Programs." The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify and recommend as exemplary up to 10 bilingual education programs for submission to the Dissemination Review Panel (DRP) of the Education Division, DHEW, and (2)…

Reports the implementation of a quality assurance program in Colorado mental health facilities, designed to help managers know how they were doing on operational issues. The program was simple, low cost, and easy to implement. All levels of management found it a useful tool. (Author/WAS)

This paper examines the concepts of program monitoring and program evaluation in the literature, and offers working definitions based on two dimensions of measurement: focus (what questions are addressed) and timing (how often the measures are taken). Focus can be on inputs to the program or outcomes from it; timing can be one-shot or continuous.…

This third and final article on effectiveness and efficiency in industrial training contains a number of suggestions on how to improve training effectively and describes how they are going about it in the Netherlands. (Author)

Information that describes a program's implementation and client audience can help the evaluator tailor the study to the constraints of particular settings and increase the likelihood that the evaluation can be implemented as planned. (Author/BS)

An overview of how program evaluation is organized within the federal government is presented. Using examples from three federal agencies, the author shows how evaluation units are formed, defines their functions, and discusses the barriers that must be overcome to manage a federal program evaluation office effectively. (Author)

Strengthened the theory of change approach to evaluating a complex social initiative by integrating it with a quasi-experimental comparison group design. Used the approach in an evaluation of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Urban Health Initiative. Initial findings support the usefulness of the initiative. (SLD)

To assure that gerontology students meet their educational objectives and are prepared to assume professional roles, gerontological program assessment is imperative. This paper situates gerontological academic program assessment within the framework of the American Association of Higher Education's principles of assessment. It presents clear…

THE EVALUATION OF AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM TYPICALLY IMPLIES MEASUREMENT. MEASUREMENT, IN TURN, IMPLIES TESTING IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER. IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT THE TESTING NECESSARY FOR THE EVALUATION OF AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, RESEARCHERS OFTEN DEVELOP A COMPLETE TESTING SUB-PROGRAM. THE EVALUATION OF THE TOTAL PROJECT MAY DEPEND UPON THE TESTING…

The author comments on significant methodological issues emerging from substantial studies of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act which are highly relevant to evaluations of the Job Training Partnership Act. (JOW)

Describes key issues to consider in evaluating community capacity based on four community-based health programs that have included increasing community capacity or a related concept as one of the defined outcomes of their program and their subsequent evaluations. Two programs were rural, and the others, urban. (SLD)

When studying different types of returns to education, educational reforms are commonly used in the economics literature as a source of exogenous variation in education. The Swedish compulsory school reform is one example; the reform extended compulsory education throughout the country, in different municipalities at different points in time. Such…

The Polish school education system makes a distinction between two types of assessment: (1) Intra-school or internal assessment; and (2) External assessment. The idea of introducing external examinations into the Polish school education system emerged in 1992. This was directly inspired by study visits to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands…

What might count as a world class, national public education system in 2020? That empty cup took the floor at the 2010 Future of Learning (FoL) Summer Institute at Harvard University. It traveled from Longfellow Hall's lecture room on Appian Way to several learning groups scattered around campus. Though not deliberately created to think about…