With the myriad challenges facing parents in recent years, formal parenting training programs have been developed to address parent needs. However, few studies have been conducted to assess the actual effects of participating in such programs. An attempt to develop a better understanding of how informal parental support networks and formal parent…

Criteria for usefulness of evaluative information have changed and this means the model of evaluation used by extension must meet the new criteria. Evaluation research is now considered the legitimate model for evaluation; it can aid decision makers by providing data for making unpopular decisions. (LRA)

Two questions are addressed in this document: What is worth knowing about Project Follow Through? and, How should the National Institute of Education (NIE) evaluate the Follow Through program? Discussion of the first question focuses on findings of past Follow Through evaluations, problems associated with the use of experimental design and…

Several years ago, California, along with other states, discovered that there was a layering effect of categorical programs, both state and federal. Most programs were aimed at unique populations--disadvantaged, bilingual, etc. This proliferation and the evaluation requirements inherent in each of the categorical efforts created problems of…

Thirteen evaluations of programs to prevent child abuse and neglect are reviewed. The evaluations were characterized by careful attention to methodologic detail but lacked definitions of abuse or neglect. Important topics are omitted, such as the consequences and costs of medical neglect. (Author/JDD)

The growing demand for program evaluation in the 1970s gave rise to a need for a comprehensive, carefully developed, objective set of guiding principles for the evaluation process, from initial planning to final report. The Joint Committee on Standards for Education Evaluation was established to meet this need. This broad-based group, representing…

Although important progress has been made in educational evaluation during the past decade new problems believed to be more serious threaten the progress that has been made. These problems are said to be a mixture of logistics and politics and are in large part an outgrowth of the increasing pluralism of American society. (Author/AM)

Threshold analysis (TA) is introduced as an evaluation model. TA converts unknown variables into questions as to whether a given benefit, cost, or success probability is more or less than a threshold, above which the proposed project would be profitable, and below which it would be unprofitable. (Author/PN)

The advantages and disadvantages of the evaluation of school health services in the Eugene, Oregon, public school district are discussed as an illustrative case study. The methodology of the work is presented; evaluation results are analyzed; and the reactions of board members and health services personnel are described. (Author/PN)

The position is taken that the effectiveness of bilingual education programs has not been adequately researched or evaluated. The lack of appropriate critical, empirical, or longitudinal studies is attributed to several factors. (MH)

From her review of the final evaluation reports of 81 career education projects, the author notes seven common pitfalls in career education program evaluation. For a related article by this author, see pp75-83 of this issue. (SJL)

In this context, ethics refers to a set of normative standards for resolving dilemmas that policy analysts or evaluators often face with regard to what they should do in performing their roles in the interests of societal desirability. The dilemmas relate to: (1) prediction versus prediction plus prescription; (2) evaluation versus evaluation plus…

Albuquerque's Title I evaluation staff is in the process of generating a comprehensive local evaluation design because it considers the federally required product evaluation unsatisfactory. The required mean-gain comparisons were extended beyond the dimension of program to the dimensions of school, grade, and Title I instructor. This evaluation…