Mounting concerns about the levels and distributions of human capital, as well as how they are associated with outcomes for individuals and societies, have contributed to an increase in the number of national and international surveys. These surveys not only examine skills among school-age and adult populations, they also facilitate evaluation of…

IFT Approval of undergraduate food science and technology programs has continued to evolve since its inception in the 1960s. This report provides rationale and outlines key changes in the latest revisions of the IFT Approval Guidelines that were approved by the IFT Board of Directors in 2018. The 2018 Guidelines retained the previously established…

This article reports research that examined the meaning of two broad evaluator competency domains. The first is "situational awareness" (SA) that focuses on understanding the unique contexts of evaluations and their users/stakeholders. The second is "interpersonal competence" (IC) that focuses on social skills needed for…

Extension evaluation studies often can provide the basis for valuable disciplinary contributions. This article presents recommendations for developing academic journal manuscripts from Extension evaluations. A journal article will be focused on research questions that may be distinctly different from the evaluation questions that drove the…

Yes! We know that coaching can increase teacher effectiveness and student learning. This new edition of "Coaching Matters" builds on the authors' ongoing research and work with school systems to design coaching programs that improve learning. The result is a book that clarifies the complex issues and operational details of effective…

This paper explores students' perceptions of the benefits of chess-based instruction as part of an evaluation of a Chess in Schools (CIS) program implemented in 2017-2018 by a State Department of Education in the southeastern United States. The data were collected using a cross-sectional survey administered to students at the end of the academic…

We examine whether the El Dorado Promise, a guaranteed college scholarship program for students in the El Dorado School District (EDSD), affected elementary and middle school achievement using a quasi-experimental matching design. We first match the EDSD with similar districts to create a pool of potential comparison students then match students…

This study examined spring literacy scores among at-risk prekindergarten students exposed to supplemental support solely in literacy or a combination of literacy and math. Propensity scores were used to match students receiving combined support (n = 39) with an equivalent number of students receiving only literacy tutoring. Students were matched…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach programs aim to increase participation in STEM fields. However, the impact of these programs is rarely measured due to inherent difficulties in conducting long-term evaluations. This article presents a decadal evaluation of the Science and Engineering Challenge (SEC), an Australian…

Purpose: This study sought to examine the effects of a peer-mentoring program on first-year speech-language pathology graduate students' perceived stress levels. Method: The researcher randomly assigned 10 first-year speech-language pathology graduate students to a mentee group. Students were then randomly matched with 10 second-year…

We report on national trends in STEM program quality using the Dimensions of Success (DoS), an empirical observation tool that provides a common definition of STEM program quality. We analyzed ratings for 12 dimensions of quality obtained from 452 DoS observations performed in 452 STEM-focused OST programs across 25 U.S. states by certified DoS…

Over 1.5 million students in the United States experience homelessness. These students are entitled to educational support through the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program. However, many homeless students are not identified and therefore never receive this support. Across 1,732 local education agencies in New Jersey, New Mexico, and…

Violence remains the leading cause of injury and death for people between the ages of 15 and 24 and presents a challenge for communities of color. Better understanding of the context surrounding violence is critical in order to develop effective prevention interventions. We conducted a two-phase, qualitative, feasibility study to develop and…

The flexibility federal block grants provide recipients poses challenges for evaluation. These challenges include aggregating data on wide-ranging activities grant recipients implement and the outcomes they achieve. In 2014, we began designing an evaluation to address the challenges of assessing outcomes and to improve outcome accountability for…

Although experts agree that diverse stakeholder inclusion enhances quality and equity in evaluation designs and implementation, diverse voices are often omitted. Particularly antithetical to principles of youth character development, evaluations for these programs should strive to include voices from various social, economic, community, and…