This article describes the development and use of a rapid evaluation approach to meet program accountability and learning requirements in a research for development program operating in five developing countries. The method identifies clusters of outcomes, both expected and unexpected, happening within areas of change. In a workshop, change agents…

What the federal government needs to do is to coordinate a broad national level of evaluation of specific intervention programs at the local level. A unified and coordinated evaluation approach is needed at the national level that utilizes "outside" and local evaluators considered to have technical expertise and professional integrity. (Author/ER)

TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE GREAT CITIES SCHOOL PROGRAM IN PHILADELPHIA, A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO REDUCE THE EFFECTS OF EXPERIMENTAL DEPRIVATION AMONG CHILDREN OF LIMITED BACKGROUNDS, FOUR TYPES OF EVALUATIVE CRITERIA WERE USED IN THIS STUDY AND ARE REPORTED AS FOLLOWS--(1) STANDARDIZED TESTING--THE RESULTS AFTER 2 YEARS WERE COMPARED WITH…

Discusses problems that social scientists face when evaluating social programs, including cost, methodological concerns, and the development and application of new analytical techniques. (GC)

This background paper provides the basis for evaluation of programs aimed at reforming social welfare programs. It analyzes the effect of current income transfer programs on poor families. Public expenditures for social welfare programs have grown four-fold while at the same time, the percentage of families in poverty has declined by only 30%.…

This report examines the quality and rigor of evaluation practices at the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), and the extent to which evaluation results have influenced program design and operation. Because of the innovative nature of the programs, and a resulting lack of reliable data, past attempts at comprehensive evaluation have been…

This report provides an overview of the poverty problem and possible solutions. The available statistics and their limitations are summarized. The complementary roles of income-maintenance and employment policies are discussed. Because employment policies are limited to those who can be made employable, the report concludes that liberal changes in…

Assessment of welfare gains from a targeted social program can be seriously biased unless the endogeneity of program participation is addressed. Bias comes from two sources of placement endogeneity: the purposive targeting of geographic areas, and the targeting of individual recipients within selected areas. Partial decentralization of program…

This article discusses the theoretical underpinnings of different types of income poverty measures--absolute, relative, and a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) "quasi-relative" one--and empirically assesses them by tracking their performance over time and across demographic groups. Part of the assessment involves comparing these measures to…

This report critically reviews past benefit-cost studies of manpower programs and offers an alternative methodology for program evaluation. Because of selective admission criteria and a tendency to attribute all income changes to training, previous studies have had an upward bias in measuring the effectiveness of training. This study evaluates a…

Twenty-five years of evaluation research are reviewed. Findings show that evaluations of social programs have been negative. Policymakers often blamed the evaluators when it was not clear why certain programs had failed. There is hope for a better working relationship as evaluators adopt better methods and social policy becomes more rational. (VM)

Sharp limitations on measuring the impact of Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) can be largely overcome by developing an improved system and techniques for planning projects and their likely effects. The distinguishing characteristics of VISTA for measurement purposes are: a large number of volunteer program activities and sponsors, hence…

DESCRIBED ARE THE COMPONENTS OF PROJECT KNOW HOW (PKH), AN OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM. DESIGNED TO ATTACK INDIVIDUAL FAMILIAL POVERTY, PKH INVOLVES A PRESCHOOL TRAINING PROGRAM BEGINNING IN THE FIRST YEAR OF LIFE AND CONTINUING TO SCHOOL AGE, A SALARIED ASSISTING MOTHERS PROGRAM, A FATHER'S PROGRAM, AND A FAMILY HEALTH…

The main purpose of this project is to evaluate the success of the Los Angeles Women's Job Corps Center in helping girls rise out of poverty by improving their attitudes and economic status. A second objective is to estimate the cost of each service provided to a girl. Based on comparisons of outcomes among girls as individuals rather than groups,…