A document retrieval study conducted before and again after the building of a more centralized library at Syracuse University is used as an example of the kind of data gathering which can lead to improved decision making and evaluation of library services by library administrators. The study is discussed in detail to facilitate replication and to…

The purpose of this guide is to assist trained data collectors in the use of the "Performance-Based Counselor Certification Model for the State of Georgia." The guidelines are intended to clarify the process rather than to limit the data collector to a confining set of definitions. In addition, the guide discusses specific school…

This handbook presents a secondary program evaluation system to improve the quality of Oregon state-approved, secondary vocational education programs. Section 1 describes this evaluation system. It discusses the three levels of evaluation. The design includes provisions for review of Oregon minimum standards, federal and state vocational education…

The topics discussed in this resource book include not only how to assess the long-term impact of early childhood Title I programs, but also how to develop and use a longitudinal information system for a variety of routine operations. The book is designed to help evaluators decide what a particular information system should look like. For…

This two-part paper describes the working assumptions approach to early program evaluation and illustrates the approach with a study of a new social science curriculum in American ethnic pluralism for community colleges. Part I begins by providing a rationale for early program evaluation and describing the working assumptions approach as a model…

The purpose of this manual is to provide vocational educators with evaluation elements and tested models which can assist them in designing evaluation systems. Chapter 1 provides several sets of criteria for inclusion in any general program evaluation. The eleven general areas for which criteria are included are administrative procedures,…

This paper presents an alternative approach to evuating Individually Guided Education (IGE) which should be prerequisite to the conduct of output evaluation. To this end, it introduces a specially designed instrument, the "IGE Implementation Survey," which is capable of systematically collecting information on the degree to which schools…

After a general review of approaches to the evaluation of curriculum innovations the author presents a strategy for summative evaluation based on three related activities: (1) the intrinsic evaluation of the curriculum materials that incorporate the aims, objectives, and teaching and learning strategies of the program being evaluated; (2) a…

One solution to the problem of obtaining test scores in order to assess multiple outcomes of educational programs is a basically simple technique called matrix sampling. Matrix sampling is the estimation of total test score statistics by administering random subsets of test items to randomly selected students. This chapter lays out the specific…

The Shawano County Evaluation Project examines the results of programing efforts by Extension personnel, county and statewide, over a 15-year period. It attempts to deal with results of all 13 Extension program areas, which range from 4-H to programs for doctors, lawyers, and other professionals. The paper describes the four major variables being…

Results of an evaluation of three teacher-education centers in West Virginia are provided. The centers' programs emphasize the joint participation of various institutions and agencies in the training of teachers. The evaluation concentrated on the programs' chief objectives, which were: (1) identification and recruitment of qualified public school…

This critique of the Phi Delta Kappa Study Committee on Evaluation's report opens with a short description of the report; its definition of evaluation as "the process of delineating, obtaining, and providing useful information for judging decision alternatives," its detailed description of the decision-making process together with…

The purposes and activities of the American Council on Education's Office of Research are reviewed, focusing on the overriding issue of the impact colleges have on their students. The Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP), which constitutes the backbone of research activities of the office, is described with regard to its progress,…

Historically, interviewers have been unable to reach high agreement on applicant potential even when they interview the same applicant. However, it has been recently demonstrated that interviewers can do a good job of gathering relevant data and predicting applicant success. This document is a report on research conducted to learn what factors…

Attrition, or the loss of study subjects, confounds the subject identification process. Design attrition occurs when subjects initially involved in the study are excluded because of changes in study focus or rationale. Data collection attrition occurs when subjects are excluded because they were not contacted by the data gatherer, or because the…