An evaluation system for measuring the cost effectiveness of protective services for abused and neglected children was developed and field tested. The system permits the collection and analysis of definitive, quantifiable data to determine: (1) which service agencies, individually, or as aggregated by states or regions, are most effective in…

This document presents an evaluation of the New York State Preventive Services Demonstration Project, which provides services to families in distress to shorten or prevent the placement of children in foster care. A total of 549 cases, involving 992 children, were involved in the 1-year study. The experimental group of 373 cases received services…

This detailed report describes the development of a child care program designed to provide quality day care for children while serving as a laboratory school for persons seeking an associate degree in child care. Introductory information describes the project's conception and administrative structure, its involvement with state, local and federal…

Describes a successful training model for early childhood educators (Grades K-three) and paraprofessionals who are unprepared to work with mainstreamed handicapped children. Specifically discussed are program goals and objectives; training modules; training activities; on-site visitation; evaluation; and discussion and recommendations. (Author/DST)

This article provides a case study (an eighth-grader with autism) within a case study (an urban middle school) in terms of the implementation of positive behavioral support (PBS). Information is provided on the characteristics of three key components of schoolwide PBS, universal support, group support, and individual support. (Contains…

The article deals with the contribution of background variables (gender, years of residence in a treatment center, and family status), internal resource (self-esteem), and external resources (peer, family and significant other support, sense of belonging to the community) to life satisfaction among adolescents living in residential treatment…

Assessments of studies meant to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, programs, and policies can serve an important role in the interpretation of research results. However, evidence suggests that available quality assessment tools have poor measurement characteristics and can lead to opposing conclusions when applied to the same body of…

The widespread application of personal computers to educational and psychological testing has substantially increased the number of test administration methodologies available to testing programs. Many of these mediums are referred to by their acronyms, such as CAT, CBT, CCT, and LOFT. The similarities between the acronyms and the methods…

Background/Context: In the past 35 years, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program has spread to 483 schools across the United States, with an ever-growing share of these schools located in the inner city. These American school sites comprise vastly different contexts than those in which the IB program began-the international schools of…

Charter Theatre is a small professional theatre in Washington, DC. Its mission is to develop and produce new plays. Like other organizations, Charter Theatre wants to be accountable. Its members saw early the need for evaluation--a repeatable process to assure the quality of their work, and have infused their development process with evaluation.…

The purpose of this article is to inform readers about the types of instruments available for assessing and improving mentoring in organizations. Extensive review of the psychological, business and medical literature was conducted to identify commercially published, practitioner-oriented instruments. All of the instruments that were…

The National Association for the Education of Young Children's Accreditations Criteria for Assessment clearly identifies the need for observation and assessment in early childhood programs. NAEYC also addresses the need to create an assessment plan and use appropriate assessment methods. Although practitioners agree that observation is important,…

This seven-part guide provides a framework for use in planning, developing, and implementing an evaluation for a tutoring program. Part I provides a brief introduction to the value of evaluating a tutoring program. Part II advises readers first to determine the purpose of their evaluation and the kinds of information to be examined, to consider…

Extension education evaluators are concerned about accounting for lack of control over and the value of describing environmental influences when assessing impact. Evaluability assessment (EA) identifies relationships between and describes external influences on program events. It provides information regarding clarity about goals and objectives…

The California Postsecondary Education Commission's annual review of California public higher education discusses three major topics: program planning; approval of new programs; and the review of existing programs. The section on planning covers planning procedures of the segments, a 1991 list of projected programs, trends in subject areas and…