Research has demonstrated that school-based problem-solving teams (SB PSTs), a term describing teams engaging in efforts to remediate problems in school settings, can effectively improve student functioning while reducing special education referrals and disproportionality. Unfortunately, questions remain as to the effectiveness of SB PSTs in the…

One of the major successes of advanced quantitative methods has been its seeming ability to provide unbiased determinations of which education practices are effective for education in general and for improving the educational achievement and opportunity of the neediest students. The power of this methodology as applied in the top education…

Current economic conditions and the increasing competition for government funding are leading to an increased focus on the impact of research. Measuring the impact of research is difficult because not all impacts are direct and some can be negative or result from the identification of problems that require a non-research response. The time between…

This chapter examines lessons learned by states that are using student unit record (SUR) data to improve outcomes for community college students and recommends steps states can take to strengthen their use of SUR databases to benefit students and communities. (Contains 1 exhibit.)

Reviews research concerning sustained silent reading and lists factors that are important in determining whether such a reading program is successful. (FL)

This paper reviews the literature concerning school-wide discipline systems. It examines strategies suggested by experts, the effectiveness of these systems, and research indicating promising school-wide discipline practices. Only systems containing proactive or positive school-wide procedures were considered in the review of 34 articles. The…

This essay on EC 606 264, which found that more intense early intervention programs for children with disabilities were not more effective, comments on the "political incorrectness" of the results, the possibility for misinterpretation of the results, and the need to reexamine beliefs about what contributes to effective intervention programs. (JDD)

The authors argue that continuing medical education (CME) research fails to prove its effectiveness in patient outcomes, that there is no theory from which to generate measurable hypotheses and that questionable methodology, dubious applicability, and misleading conclusions pervade CME research. (SK)

From the outset, the Teaching and Learning Research Programme gave significant importance to the meaningful involvement of users, who were expected not only to be trialling the outcomes of the research but also, more importantly, to be consulted in the process of formulating the project proposals and in the research process itself. This level of…

This analysis reveals critical weaknesses surrounding the theoretical basis for the AIR (American Institutes for Research) evaluation design. It poses questions concerning the evaluation methodology. Specifically, it identifies major discrepancies in the identification of the target population, the selection of comparable control groups, test…

Perhaps no facet of long-term care (LTC) research has received as much attention as the evaluation of community-based LTC demonstrations. Recent thinking has called into question the validity and policy relevance of the findings of these studies, yet their efforts will continue to receive strong financial backing. The time has come for LTC…

EVALUATING PROGRAMS FOR THE DISADVANTAGED IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE THERE IS NO CLEAR THEORETICAL OR OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF THE TERM "DISADVANTAGED." THE PROLIFERATION OF SCHOOL PROGRAMS ALSO CREATES EVALUATION PROBLEMS, FOR OFTEN EVALUATION TAKES PLACE BEFORE THE PROGRAM IS EITHER FULLY IMPLEMENTED OR HAS FUNCTIONED FOR A SUFFICIENT PERIOD OF TIME.…

This article examines the social skills training research-to-practice process and argues that a logical and attendant line of rigorous study is lacking. Areas of social inquiry are drawn from to discuss the need for conceptual frameworks to guide investigation and offer a way for research to be designed and interpreted. (Contains references.)…

The actual impact of research and demonstration projects in vocational education is evaluated. Criteria for a reliable research design are specified regarding sample size, sample selection, control groups, and economic and educational benefit and cost evaluation. The impact of research and demonstration projects is analyzed in the areas of…

A study was conducted to understand better a common problem in job development efforts in rehabilitation--the poor returns of mailed-out surveys and, therefore, identification of few job leads for further cultivation. Two experimental job development investigations were used, one with large firms and one with small firms, to examine the effect of…