This article presents how character development practitioners, researchers, and funders might think about evaluation, how evaluation fits into their work, and what needs to happen in order to sustain evaluative practices. A broader view of evaluation is presented whereby evaluation is not just seen as something that is applied at a program level,…

In 2010, as the result of a congressionally mandated study, the National Research Council (NRC) published the report "Preparing Teachers: Building Evidence for Sound Policy" (NRC, 2010). Reflecting the unprecedented attention to teacher quality that had emerged internationally in response to the exigencies of the "global knowledge…

This chapter describes the historical and contemporary theoretical underpinnings of learning communities and argues that there is a need for more complex models in conceptualizing and assessing their effectiveness.

This article describes the creation of the Master of Science of Computer Science and Information Systems at University of North Carolina Wilmington. The creation of this graduate degree was funded by the Sloan Foundation as a new type of program, the Professional Master's. The program was designed with significant industry input, and is truly…

This article provides an historical look at how programs and practices for students with emotional or behavior disorders (E/BD) have been evaluated since 1964, leading to a codified, although not universally recognized, set of recommendations for evaluating best practices for students with E/BD set out by The Peacock Hill Working Group (1991). The…

From the 1980s to the present, educational accountability in the United States has grown dramatically. Such accountability in U.S. school districts, although driven primarily by external demands, has internal manifestations as well. The chapter traces the historical development of internal evaluation in American school districts, then highlights…

When measuring outcomes in corporate training, the authors recommend that it is essential to introduce a comprehensive plan, especially when resources are limited and the company needs are vast. The authors hone in on five critical components for shaping a measurement plan to determine the success and ROI of training. The plan's components should…

This practical guide to outcomes-based assessment in student affairs is designed to help readers meet the growing demand for accountability and for demonstrating student learning. The authors offer a framework for implementing the assessment of student learning and development and pragmatic advice on the strategies most appropriate for the…

The schools' inspection regime in England has shifted in recent decades from a focus on external assessment of practice to a scrutiny of external data and schools' self-evaluation, culminating in a normative system based on self-surveillance by school senior managers. This model of inspection (characteristic of the performative approach to public…

Background: In 2008 primary education in England reached, historically, another important phase in its development. Government reviewed the primary curriculum and some aspects of the national system of assessment. These government reviews coincided with an independent "Primary Review" based at the University of Cambridge to which the…

The book is a highly readable integration of the latest assessment policies, and includes valuable information regarding young children with special needs and English Language Learners--topics that have rarely been touched upon in other textbooks. Focusing on practical applications of key concepts, this text provides a knowledge base of what every…

Auditing is an objective examination conducted to determine accountability and the level of management control existing in the operation of an organization. Discusses the different types of commitments required of regional associations for implementing an auditing process in school program evaluation. (Author/RK)

Looks at developments in adult reading over the past two decades, concentrating on the training of teachers, testing and evaluation, and program evaluation methods. Concludes that while adult reading has made substantial progress, it is still not a mature field. (FL)

The author offers a history and philosophy of the evaluation concept. She discusses the growth of educational evaluation, institutional evaluation and its relationship to planning, program and faculty evaluation, and evaluation models. (CT)

The lack of adequate and appropriate methods for assessing the effectiveness of interdisciplinary higher education programs is discussed. Barriers to evaluation are examined and examples of locally designed and standardized program evaluation measures are described briefly and compared. Specific recommendations are made for designing evaluations.…