The lack of consensus among researchers in defining the focal construct of rurality has led to contradictory conclusions of whether or not a rural-urban performance gap exists in higher education. Compounding this problem are the changing definitions of rural and urban, even among governmental agencies. Thus, this study used two different…

In 1990, Milwaukee (Wisconsin) became the site of the first publicly funded school-choice program providing low-income parents with vouchers that could be used to send their children to secular, private schools. An evaluation of Milwaukee's school-choice experiment was conducted by a team of researchers, headed by John Witte at the University of…

An evaluation of Round One of a pilot study of a system for identifying effective youth organizations around the world is presented in this report. The report begins with a page of general observations about the successes and shortcomings of the pilot study, indicating that in general the study accomplished its objectives but that a need for…

The methods and findings of studies of the effects and value of preschool education and compensatory education programs, such as Head Start, are reviewed. After introductory comments on ideological controversies and on terminology, section 1 focuses on evaluative studies of the immediate and long-term effects of preschool education and early…

Research on the implementation of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) included a sample of more than 20,000 people in 16 service delivery areas (SDAs). The random assignment model for the study produced estimates of the impact of the overall JTPA program in this sample of SDAs, plus separate impact estimates for individuals recommended for…

The general purpose of this year-long study was to evaluate the effects of the Edmonton Hospital Workers' Child Care Society programs in three Canadian hospitals on the employers, the employees, and the children served. Specifically, this study investigated the effects of employer-supported child care on (1) employee absenteeism; (2) tardiness;…

Because research synthesis enables one to determine either the overall effectiveness of a particular treatment or the relative effectiveness of different types of treatments, it is becoming increasingly popular as a tool in program evaluation. Numerous methodological problems arise, however, when research synthesis is applied to studies conducted…

An examination was made of Federal program statistics on vocational education during the past 10 years by the Bureau of Occupational and Adult Education of the U. S. Office of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics of the U. S. Department of Education. The study found that despite a mandate for reform, the National Center's…

Effective schools are typically defined as those schools which improve or maintain already-established high levels of student achievement. A number of issues and research needs are raised which relate to the identification of effective schools. Unless the nature of "effectiveness" can be described and agreed upon, researchers face the possibility…

Research on school reform efforts and reform evaluation and the recognition that individual students are in constant transition and are members of multiple groups whose dynamics differ over the duration of schooling were examined. A conceptual framework for developing design and analysis strategies for investigating educational reform efforts is…

Recognition of new demands in Swedish education during the 1960s led to selection of eight principles to be considered in educational facilities planning. These principles concerned (1) freedom of students to change schools, (2) availability of school space for nonschool functions, (3) flexible use of spaces for varied student activities, (4)…

A two-phase investigation of characteristics associated with student achievement in elementary and secondary reading centers in the Houston (Texas) Independent School District is described and evaluated in this paper. After presenting background information about the centers, the paper describes the first phase of the investigation, which revealed…

Decision-oriented inquiries emanate from a specific need for information and are conducted under a number of constraints. Conclusion-oriented research originates with the researcher and can be pursued in ways decided on by the researcher. Two examples of decision-oriented evaluation studies conducted by school districts and the relationships…

This paper traces the history of a series of early studies designed to identify and document unusually successful compensatory education projects. One of the major characteristics of the early studies is that they were based upon review and analysis of existing literature. Although they used similar data bases they varied considerably in…

The purpose of this paper is to outline and explain the evaluation system used by the Rhode Island Department of Education to measure the effectiveness of compensatory education programs. An exposition of how relevant background, program and financial information is collected is presented. In addition, a delineation is made of the methods…