In educational research and evaluation, a sample of subjects usually received some type of programmatic treatment. Outcome scores for these students are then compared with outcome scores of a control or comparison group. M. Lewis and H. McGurk (1972) have pointed out that there are some implicit assumptions when this approach is applied to…

The mental health counseling profession has gained increasing influence in the last 20 years. The purpose of this edited collection of articles is to chart the antecedents to, the present status of, and the future trends for this group of professionals. The book draws together historical tracings, rationales, conceptual models, and other…

This booklet, which was developed for the staff of field projects rather than for professional evaluators or researchers, provides guidelines for evaluating projects which promote activities to enhance the well-being of young children, their families, and their communities. The booklet aims to stimulate ideas and discussion, offers general…

A project developed and tested an Institutional Effectiveness Assessment Guide (IEAG) that incorporated themes and factors identified by Wardlow et al. (1992) as contributing to excellence. An interpretive design was used to enable researchers to gain input and consensus from participants of exemplary institutions regarding the institutional-level…

The Kentucky Tech Prep Evaluation system was developed to establish and maintain a database and data analysis for assessment of the effectiveness of tech prep programs in achieving specific goals and in helping schools improve cognitive and noncognitive performance as reflected in the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS)…

This books contains papers written on issues related to externally mandated mathematics tests and their influence on school mathematics. Chapter 1 presents an overview of the book, including brief abstracts of each chapter. Chapter 2 presents a summary of the overall problems associated with the need for valid information. Remaining chapters…

This study outlines and evaluates an urban school district's mentoring program in which 18 veteran teachers are selected to serve as full-time mentors for up to 10 beginning teachers or 4 persons participating in an alternative certification program. Methods of data collection included surveys and focus group interviews with mentor teachers,…

This study assessed the quality of undergraduate education at the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) using student evaluations as the assessment tool. Educational quality was defined as good scores on the UCSD Course Appraisal and Professor Evaluation (CAPE) form. UCSD's CAPE is unique because students collect, compile, and make public the…

An intervention program sought to improve third- and fifth- grade students' ability to transfer learning among subject areas and to apply their learning to everyday occurrences. Surveys and interviews revealed the lack of student transference of knowledge among subject areas; teacher surveys and an interview with the curriculum director provided…

This chapter examines the potential pitfalls in evaluating the effectiveness of gifted education programs and applies recent trends in the assessment and maintenance of quality in industrial applications. Evaluators are encouraged to avoid the temptations of bad evaluation which may appear to offer simpler alternatives to complex tasks but…

This report presents a review and evaluation of the accountability plans in public postsecondary education as they relate to the mission and goals of postsecondary institutions. A review of current accountability activities found that existing legislation and institutional responses do not sufficiently embody the kinds of characteristics that…

Wisconsin has been exploring educational targets or outcomes since 1992 in conjunction with legislation mandating student assessment. While the establishment of outcomes does not necessarily indicate that a school subscribes to an outcome-based education (OBE) philosophy, the two could go together. OBE requires identification of outcomes prior to…

The Boeing Company is involved in partnerships with Washington state schools in the area of applied academics. Over the past 3 years, Boeing offered grants to 57 high schools to implement applied mathematics, applied communication, and principles of technology courses. Part 1 of this paper gives an overview of applied academics by examining what…

The use of portfolio creation with teacher education students is one way to enact the spirit and practices associated with the "true testing" movement. True testing advocates relevant work, in-context work, metacognitive work, self-evaluation, peer-collaborations, work commitment, self-directedness, successive work drafts, and work…

This abstract and outline for a workshop explore the use of focus groups in evaluation. Cerritos College in Norwalk (California) conducted a series of focus groups to evaluate a new matriculation program. A focus group is a technique often used in marketing research to explore a specific topic. It is a group interview conducted in a casual setting…