Evaluations are conducted to aid the development of quality occupational programs, provide data for program planning at State and local levels, and to ensure accountability of Federal and State fund allocations. To improve evaluations, criteria reflecting the missions of the local program should be used instead of a standard evaluative instrument.…

The emergence from its first operational phase prompted this discussion of the Unesco-designed Experimental World Literacy Programme. (MB)

Five preparatory steps for the evaluation of community-based programs, described as "front-end" challenges, are discussed: (1) understanding the reasons for the evaluation; (2) securing resources; (3) establishing credibility and enthusiasm; (4) developing consensus about goals and objectives; and (5) observing and fine tuning the…

Proposes that effective implementation of school-wide systems of positive behavior support will require moving the consultation process from individual cases to working teams of educators. Key skills and possible measurement strategies to develop and sustain school-wide consultation efforts are described. (Contains 48 references.) (GCP)

Focuses on the evaluation capacity building (ECB) outreach activities of the World Bank with regard to provision of advice and assistance to individual governments. The primary story is that of the ECB lessons learned through working with a range of governments; the secondary story is how ECB is becoming a recognized and valued activity within the…

The methodology and design of the process evaluation system of the Pawtucket Heart Health Program (an 11-year project for changing/documenting change in cardiovascular disease risk status of a northeastern city's residents) are described. Examples of the system's use are provided. The maintenance of such a system without substantial evaluation…

Reviews youth programs worldwide, focusing on program objectives, contexts provided by programs, activities and processes, relationships of programs to families and schools, and national environments. Outlines six approaches to program evaluation. Suggests that program outcomes are related to intrinsic factors, extrinsic factors, and participant…

Argues for maintaining a discovery capacity (both qualitative and quantitative) in evaluations of community-based health and human service programs. Discovery capacity is defined as a mechanism to detect new insights and developments in programs. Cites reasons this capacity is especially important in community-based programs. (SLD)

Describes experiences in developing a multi-program economic evaluation and costing study of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), a widely studied community mental health treatment model. The project description shows how the worlds of research and service delivery can collaborate to come to symbiotic resolutions. (Author/SLD)

Government and public focus on accountability for program outcomes, combined with practical and ethical constraints on experimental designs, make nonexperimental studies of social programs an increasingly common approach to producing information on program performance. In this paper, we compare the effectiveness of alternative nonexperimental…

This volume reviews measures and programs recently undertaken by governments in several different countries to address youth unemployment and school-to-work transition. Focus is on studies of assessment methods and data needs (Part 1) and recurrent education (Part 2). The first three studies emphasize the development of assessment methods. One…

This paper suggests rethinking the doctoral examination process in Australia to enable a closer alignment with the aims of the learning programme. The doctoral examination processes generally aim to assess the candidate's research capability, the quality and originality of the candidate's contribution to knowledge, and to authenticate that the…

Consultation researchers have long recognized the importance of assessing fidelity of intervention implementation, including the fidelity with which both consultation procedures and behavioral intervention plans are delivered. However, despite decades of discussion about the importance of assessing for fidelity of implementation in intervention…

This paper analyzes the impact of the local availability of Head Start, a public preschool program for low-income children, on the participation of immigrant children. We use propensity score methods to flexibly control for numerous individual and neighborhood characteristics and availability of other services aimed at low-income families. We find…