Within the fields of human performance technology (HPT), human resources management (HRM), and management in general, performance measurement is not only foundational but considered necessary at all phases in the process of HPT. In HPT in particular, there is substantial advice literature on what measurement is, why it is essential, and (at a…

The Tips for Transition contains 134 Transition Tips submitted from all over the country by practitioners. The purpose of the Tips was to identify grassroots transition practices being used by practitioners. Tips are categorized into the following domains: (1) Transition Planning; (2) Student Involvement; (3) Family Involvement; (4) Curriculum and…

This article discusses the five studies included in this issue. Each article addressed the same topic, population invariance of equating. They all used data from major standardized testing programs, and they all used essentially the same statistics to evaluate their results, namely, the root mean square difference and root expected mean square…

Human resource development (HRD) practitioners are adding storytelling to their box of tactical and strategic tools. This qualitative research study investigates how HRD practitioners in for-profit settings apply storytelling as a means of advancing organizational goals. The primary focus of practitioners is on instrumental application of stories…

The value of qualitative assessment approaches has been underestimated primarily because they are often juxtaposed against long-standing quantitative traditions and the widely accepted premise that the best research produces generalizable and statistically significant findings. Institutional researchers avoid qualitative methods for at least three…

With increasing availability of interventions for children with autism, it is important that these are backed by rigorous evaluation data that have high levels of ecological validity. To achieve this, a key prerequisite for any evaluation is to gather data on typical consumers and typical implementation patterns of the intervention. This study…

Describes a curriculum evaluation model that includes a focus of evaluation and the method of evaluation. Identifies three distinct modes of evaluation: unstructured subjective observation, semi-structured consensus of opinion, and structured objective observation. Outlines the role played by curriculum evaluation in science education today. (GS)

Intended for administrators, the booklet outlines procedures for evaluating district special education programs. An introductory chapter presents the rationale for evaluation as an efficient management tool. A review of the literature addresses five stages in evaluation: (1) defining the evaluation model, (2) collecting evaluation information, (3)…

Age is often ranked as a significant variable in research studies concerned with the measurement of intellectual and linguistic capacities, including reading. In fact, age is often cited as the cause of a decline in performance on such tasks. However, determining the social, psycho-social, and physiological status of subjects and applying…

The paper describes a data collection system useful for monitoring the progress of severely and profoundly retarded clients. Three studies are reviewed which utilized data based systems: a staff injury prevention program with eight employees, a program which taught instruction following skills to 59 severely and profoundly retarded adults, and a…

TO ASSIST IN STUDYING THE PROBLEM OF ACCOMMODATING LARGE CLASS SECTIONS, THE PENNSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY PLANNING OFFICE CONDUCTED A STUDY TO DETERMINE THE NATURE OF THE EXPERIENCES WITH LARGE GROUP TEACHING IN FORTY-TWO MAJOR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. RESPONSES BY THIRTY-SEVEN INSTITUTIONS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT…

There are striking similarities between medical education of today and progressive education of the thirties with respect to motivation for change, the values to be sought in change, and the zest with which change is pursued. It is in this climate conducive to change that a new approach to evaluation is beginning to make a significant contribution…

A case study of a particular approach to solving the problem of using data to improve decision making within a particular secondary school is presented. The first section of the paper describes: The Setting, The Original Model for the School, Original Commitment to Research and Evaluation, Teachers as a Focus of Effort, Inadequate Understanding of…

This guide gives elementary school educators the tools they need to get answers to their questions about program evaluation. It shows how to use information to work more effectively and efficiently, and its explains how to use program evaluation techniques to make sure that the solutions selected truly solve the problems of interest. The first two…

This evaluation plan, which is updated annually, provides a synthesis of the various evaluation activities of Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL). During 1999, the fourth year of the Laboratory's contract period with the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, special studies and integrated studies were designed to…