The need for competent formal evaluation programs, particularly for new federally assisted programs, is expressed. Problems in defining educational evaluation and its requirements, in designing such evaluations, and 3 possible sources of faulty conceptual bases for evaluations, are presented. An attempt is made to define evaluation in general, to…

Techniques of sociological research--defined as the assembly, organization and interpretation of facts that help explain human activity--are described in this guide to community research strategies. In Part I of the booklet some basic aspects of research are examined, illustrating procedures of stating and examining a research problem. The scope…

Twelve common errors which can invalidate an otherwise sound evaluation are identified, and ways to avoid them are presented. The hazards are: (1) grade-equivalent scores; (2) inappropriate statistical adjustments with nonequivalent control groups; (3) administering norm-referenced tests at inappropriate times of the school year; (4) inappropriate…

Directors of educational projects need to be aware of the consequences their decisions may have for evaluation and appreciate the need for working closely with their evaluators from the earliest planning stage. Attempting to address the needs of project directors and evaluators, this guidebook deals with one central aspect of project…

Measuring cognitive achievement gains in project evaluation is dealt with. This guide provides those concerned with project evaluation with the basic tools for conducting technically sound, interpretable evaluation studies. Exotic designs are avoided and five basic models which appear feasible to implement in real-world settings are focused on.…

The orientation of this report is that of identifying educational projects which can be considered clearly exemplary. The largest section consists of a 22-step procedure for validating the effectiveness of educational projects using existing evaluation data. It is not intended as a guide for conducting evaluations but rather for interpreting data…