If education is to halt the ever-swinging pendulum and make significant progress in student achievement, it must first change the ground rules for selecting, implementing, evaluating, and institutionalizing innovations like Hunter's model. This article proposes steps for providing an infrastructure capable of promoting lasting and beneficial…

Investigates three policy issues in two school districts: classification of students for various educational services; the impact of these practices on reading instruction; and implications of the classification-reading relationship for providing quality education for all students. Finds that broad discretion in program implementation adversely…

A practicum course for prospective teachers of the gifted was designed, implemented, and evaluated. The 209 teachers found the practicum teaching, observations of their teaching, and papers they wrote to be effective learning experiences. Observers' ratings of the teachers indicated that a majority performed well in the practicum. (Author/JDD)

A program was implemented in Oregon to screen infants at risk for hearing impairment, based on a birth certificate question concerning family history of hearing loss and subsequent parent notification of the need to have the infant's hearing tested. Preliminary results concerning efficacy of the program are reported. (JDD)

Suggests that systemic child welfare reforms must ultimately encompass all systems that serve vulnerable families and children. Argues that in addition to developing new approaches to service, current reform initiatives should also demonstrate the feasibility of using existing data for longitudinal analyses that are critical to evaluating…

A coherent, comprehensive communication plan to support college fund raising includes setting goals and objectives, determining target audiences, defining campaign themes, tying the plan to a campaign timetable and geographic priorities, determining the most effective tactics for delivering campaign messages, resolving cost questions, and…

Describes the design and implementation of an assessment program for a college communication program that led to a new competency-based curriculum with expanded assessment procedures. (SR)

Partial results of an evaluation of an alternative criminal-sentencing program indicate considerable disagreement among stakeholders over perceived program effectiveness. It is argued that these disagreements are not isolated events but are likely to be inherent in any program with the potential to change established systems within a complex…

To increase understanding of the educational reform movement, the Center for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) embarked on a five-year study of the implementation and effects of state education reforms in six states (Arizona, California, Florida, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania) with diverse reform approaches. This article presents the center's…

A survey of the 12 major low vision clinics in Australia is reported, focusing on (1) patient characteristics; and (2) planning, organization, outreach, admission procedures, personnel, and services provided. Results showed that increased services were being provided to rural regions through satellite clinics or private optometric practices.…

Addresses important considerations for the implementation of speaking across the curriculum. Highlights important distinctions between speech courses and speaking-across-the-curriculum courses taught by faculty in other disciplines. Argues that the benefits of speaking across the curriculum outweigh the potential harm to the field if concerns are…

TayNet is a local service provider established to support the development of businesses in Tayside (Scotland) by providing local access to the Internet. This article discusses the network's hardware and software components, evaluates the pilot phase, provides performance and connection statistics for 45 audit participants, and describes technical…

A methodology is presented for collection of cost data in evaluation of community-level health interventions that coincides with the intervention implementation. The seven discrete steps of the analysis are described, and the Minimal Contact Education for Cholesterol Change study is used as an example of how the strategy is used. (SLD)

An evaluation of case management services to families on public assistance suggests that a "logic model" and an "open systems" evaluation approach might be useful in program evaluation. A second study describes how the logic model and open systems evaluation were used to develop an evaluation plan for services to homeless…

The case study of a community relations program in Northern Ireland demonstrates the importance of contextual variables and illustrates that the demands of short-term, context-stripped, value-for-money evaluations are often in conflict with qualitative inquiries that can reveal the social, political, and cultural influences on program delivery.…