As federal legislation increasingly reflects a view that education is a vehicle for implementing social policy, mandated program evaluation studies often focus on political questions in contrast to educational questions. This study is based on participant-observation data gathered during a two-year evaluation study of Virginia teacher education…

The bulk of this conference report is made up of three papers. In the first, J. A. Riffel argues that there are two polar orientations to the problem of evaluation in education--the independent empirical and the participatory problem-solving. To date, education has been dominated by the former approach. Only the latter allows for a variety of…

Results of writing tests given to a large sample of 9, 13, and 17-year olds throughout Texas are reported in detail. Results are reported in terms of the percent of students writing at stated levels of competency or exhibiting particular writing skills. The results are reported for eight categories: (1) statewide; (2) 20 state geographic regions;…

Developed by Wisconsin's K-12 Career Education consortium, this kit of career education assessment and evaluation instruments is divided into eight sections. Section 1 provides helpful notes on using the kit and covers the following topics: program development, types of evaluation, organization of the instruments, modification of the instruments,…

This is one of a series of reports summarizing the results of the second mathematics assessment conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Nine, 13- and 17-year-olds were assessed during the 1977-78 school year. The assessment measured achievement in various content areas at four levels of cognitive processes (knowledge,…

This review of the status of speech instruction is divided into five parts, each addressing a separate issue. The first part describes the context for a change in approaches to communication instruction. The second part lists those ingredients essential to a good program, including the communication functions of controlling, feeling, informing,…

Some questions concerning foreign language learning and research topics are considered. One discussion question is why education and speech communication research has neglected the special case of second language communication as a source of information on the communication process in general. The need for research into the functional, operational…

A report is given of the findings of a follow-up study of a field-based program for preparing preservice teachers for inner-city schools. This program moves preservice teacher education from the realm of isolated theoretical instruction toward a realistic clinical approach through the use of a professional semester format. During this semester…

The United States Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) conducted a career education assessment during May of 1978 which involved approximately 1,300 nine-, thirteen-, and seventeen-year-old students in three regions. The tests were objective-based, criterion-referenced tests which assessed systemwide student achievement in the areas of…

This study was conducted to review evaluation studies of high school experiential learning programs to determine the nature of their findings and the essential elements that produce effective learning experiences in the community, and to assess the approaches used in these evaluations. Literature reviewed for the study centered on (1) work…

Important factors to consider in selecting instructional objectives and in designing objectives-based instruction are listed and discussed. Each factor is stated as a question, so that the factors can be used efficiently in selecting appropriate objectives and in designing effective instruction. The eleven factors are: (1) Is it really important…

Following an overview of the need for evaluation training, the Analysis of Evaluation Training Materials Project is described and the coverage, methodology, and usability of materials available for training educational personnel in evaluation skills are considered. Problem areas in evaluation, identified by the National Institute of Education…

This report contains a description of a statewide study that was undertaken to gather, from all relevant groups of professionals and lay representatives, statements of elements thought to be critical to the operation of successful Title I reading programs. Following an introductory chapter, three chapters provide information about the design of…

A variety of techniques are available for evaluating the success that implemented programs have in terms of achieving the expected and desired student outcomes and, by extension, the desired goals and objectives of the institution. Current approaches to such analysis are generally limited to the basic strategy of survey research. The two major…

"Project Evaluation" was conceived to aid evaluation systems in Massachusetts community colleges by accomplishing three main tasks: (1) determining the current status of evaluation efforts; (2) piloting an appropriate program evaluation system and adapting it to Massachusetts; and (3) developing a uniform placement and follow-up system.…