The goal of this paper is to discuss practical recommendations for collecting data with hard to reach populations and data comparability. We also discuss the importance of piloting and community involvement in the process using an example from the Tribal Prevention Initiative (TiPI), a culturally-based substance abuse prevention program for…

This guide was designed to help state and local education agencies conduct needs assessments to better understand the strengths, challenges, and needs unique to schools serving American Indian students. It includes surveys developed collaboratively with communities that serve American Indian students to reflect the most relevant topics. Using…

The REL Mid-Atlantic Webinar discussed the elements in a positive school climate and shared different methods for assessing school data, including the Comprehensive School Climate Inventory. The Q&A presented in this document address the questions participants had for Dr. Cohen following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint…

Making Connections was the Annie E. Casey Foundation's signature place-based, community-change initiative of the 2000s. It sought to build on previous work and launch an effort focused firmly on the framework of family strengthening. The Foundation started Making Connections in 22 places, focusing eventually on first 10, then seven sites. It…

The steps involved in conducting a valid needs assessment are described and some problems to be avoided are discussed. Needs assessment begins with a set of educational goals. It is important that community opinion be obtained regarding the goals to ensure that they represent the interests of all involved in the educational process. Once the goals…

This paper examines the benefits of merging sociological methods by concentrating on the contribution of field observation prior to the designing of a survey study of black anti-Semitism. (Author)

This book presents hands-on information on how to plan, administer, and analyze opinion polls. Guidance is also offered on how to make this strategy accessible to public interest groups. Several examples, checklists, warnings of possible pitfalls, and lists of material and human resources occur throughout the chapters. Major sections address the…

The Family Literacy Project at the Dr. Charles E. Gavin School in Chicago Heights, Illinois, brings together a community college adult education program, an early childhood program, and a local school district. This report of the Prairie State College Family Literacy Project assesses the needs for family literacy among the families in the Gavin…

Divided into six chapters, this user's manual accompanies a battery of tests developed by the Educational Progress in Careers (EPIC) project which was organized to develop and validate a system for evaluating career, economic, and community education projects in Florida schools. Chapter 1 presents an action checklist of steps to be followed by…

Four major component areas of the Hazard (Kentucky) Educational Region were sampled using questionnaires, tests, and interviews in an effort to assess the effects of a regional career education program. The community component, randomly selected to achieve a five percent representative sample, was examined for major variables associated with the…

Educational Progress in Careers (EPIC), Inc., was organized (1) to develop and validate a system for evaluating career, economic, and community education projects in Florida schools and to assist educators and school district administrators in assessing the status of career, economic, and community education programs; (2) to develop valid data…

A needs assessment survey was conducted in the Meadowfair neighborhood of the southern part of Eastside San Jose (California) during January and February 1975. Its purpose was to poll community feelings and experiences in regard to careers--whether people understood that word to mean present employment, a future goal, or any purposeful life…