Describes the process used to evaluate the writing across the curriculum (WAC) program in the Minnesota Community College System, focusing on evaluation components (i.e., workshop surveys, faculty and student surveys, faculty interviews, student compositions, and subject experiments). Considers programmatic and evaluation coordination. Reviews…

Evaluated educational program for juveniles found guilty of driving under the influence (DUI). Of 600 juveniles convicted of DUI, 100 participated in program. Participants demonstrated increased knowledge, stronger attitudes against DUI, and less risky alcohol- and automobile-related behaviors following intervention. Class participants had…

Offers information on the sexual abuse of children and its prevention. Describes a study to validate an instrument to assess children's acquisition of knowledge about personal security and the prevention of sexual abuse as presented in the Child Abuse Research and Education (CARE) program in Montreal, Quebec. Confirms the validity of the program…

An external evaluation of team training and program evaluation processes addressed California teacher educators' concerns that evaluators of teacher credentialing programs were unprepared, making the process ineffective. Surveys of higher education institutions raised concerns about the benefits of increasing external scrutiny of teacher education…

This article synthesizes 55 Quebec (Canada) pilot projects on mainstreaming of pupils with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, physical or sensorial handicaps, or mental handicaps, at preschool and elementary levels. It focuses on extent of integration, interventions, training and support for teachers, and evaluation methodology used.…

Four studies found serious problems with components of the federal Medicaid program's survey process for evaluating intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded--surveys did not discriminate between certified and noncertified units, direct-care staff behavior was very reactive to the survey's presence, and service providers had divergent…

Budget-conscious Americans are increasingly asking that staff developers provide hard data about program effectiveness. The concept of return on investment (ROI) is useful in documenting the effectiveness of staff development programs. To calculate ROI, baseline data must be compared with results realized by the organization. (SM)

Reviews important factors relevant to measuring the costs and outcomes of home visiting programs and examines six cost-benefit studies of such programs. Concludes that these studies demonstrate the feasibility of economic evaluation of home visiting and the importance of the insights it can produce. (MDM)

Examined social work practices relative to the dynamics of educational environment in one midwestern school district. Results, which indicated both the need for and the efficacy of such services, support policy that sanctions and legitimizes human service delivery in schools and establishes guidelines for appropriately funding services and for…

Recidivism of first-time offenders sentenced to a "boot camp" program is compared to traditional prison sentences and probation; Variables such as age, race, and type of offense are included in cross-tabulations and multivariate analysis. A survey of 83 participants studied attitudes toward the experience. Discussion of findings points…

Evaluates a school-choice pilot program in New York City funded by the School Choice Scholarship Foundation. School-choice students in grades four and five achieved substantially higher scores in math and reading. Compares and evaluates school-choice programs in Milwaukee (Wisconsin), San Antonio (Texas), and Cleveland (Ohio) schools. (MMU)

Describes the privately-funded voucher movement implemented by J. Patrick Rooney, James R. Leininger, Michael S. Joyce, John T. Walton, and Theodore J. Forstmann. An important feature of most of the programs is that parents have to pay partial tuition. Vouchers resources are focused on poor children in inner cities. (MMU)

Analyzes the expanding federal role in K-12 education after the mid-1960s. Provides a brief historical overview of Title I and Head Start and discusses some of the major evaluations of these programs. Contains 111 references. (SLD)

A strategy proposed by T. Cook and D. Campbell (1979) was used to investigate attrition in a community-based literacy program, focusing on 287 Head Start families. Data revealed interactions among intervention program-centered characteristics and person-centered characteristics that have implications for study validity and generalizability.…

Examines the nature and quality of some prominent evaluations of Title I over the last three decades. In the past decade, evaluation studies at national and local levels have indicated that a variety of local programs, especially comprehensive programs, provide convincing evidence of at least limited effectiveness of Title I. (SLD)