This article refers to two uses of the term "program theory": (1) microtheory to describe the model of the program; and (2) macrotheory which is concerned with factors that affect social change both within and outside programs. Barriers to successful utilization of evaluation and suggestions to overcome those barriers are discussed. (JAZ)

It is difficult to apply benefit cost analysis to human service programs. This paper explains "threshold benefit analysis," the derivation of the minimum dollar value which the benefits must attain in order for their value to equal the intervention costs. The method is applied to a mobility training program. (BS)

Asserts that by using the language of praise, which is well intentioned but manipulative and judgemental, teachers engineer the desired student behavior. Suggests that statements of encouragement can better recognize students' contributions and growth while refraining from judging the students themselves. (MM)

England and Wales have experienced a groundswell of dissatisfaction with traditional school examinations, and a corresponding enthusiasm for and interest in the development of alternative forms of assessment, variously called Profiles or Records of Achievement. Difficult issues must be addressed before such records can take the place of formal…

Family resource centers (FRC) are emerging as a promising program approach to solving urgent social problems. Evaluation plays an important role in learning how these programs work, what their impact is, and whether they should be expanded. However, FRCs pose unique challenges to evaluation. This report considers the challenges to evaluating FRCs,…

The "CSE Program Evaluation Kit" is a series of nine books intended to assist people conducting program evaluations. This volume, the eighth in the kit, is divided into three sections, each dealing with an important function that quantitative analysis serves in evaluation: summarizing scores through measures of central tendency and…

Quality of life issues in social skills assessment of persons with disabilities are discussed in terms of definitions, measures, applications to social skills assessment, and future needs. It is argued that broader measures need to be used in social skills assessment in order to evaluate quality of life changes. (CR)

Translated five subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd ed.)--Picture Completion, Information, Similarities, Vocabulary, and Comprehension--into sign language and administered tests to 110 severely and profoundly deaf children. Results indicate that many of the subtest items differentially measured intelligence for deaf…

Summarizes a special journal issue that is intended to provide professionals and other members of the policy-shaping community with information concerning the appropriate role of IQ testing in school psychological services. Suggests that IQ testing is unfounded and has led the field of school psychology astray. (RJM)

Argues that the assessment of scholastic achievement should be based on a primary system of reference formed by the structures of educational objectives, corresponding to both the logical organization of the subject matter and the mental logic of its acquisition. Uses research in written language and elementary mathematics to illustrate binding…

Student evaluation of instructors is less a valid way of measuring teaching effectiveness than a measure of student satisfaction or instructor popularity. Factors that increase student ratings--nonthreatening environment, less rigorous objectives or testing, entertaining classes--may detract from quality of student learning, whereas challenging…

Presents some of the conventional arguments against computer assisted instruction (CAI) in language education and explores humanistic concerns raised in the works of Marshall McLuhan. It is concluded that CAI is introduced into the instructional process before proper research has demonstrated that this method of teaching is not harmful for…

This review of research on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) indicates that standard diagnostic criteria are overly inclusive when applied to young children, with only half of impulsive toddlers fitting the criteria for ADHD at later ages. Accurate diagnosis depends on an evaluation of behaviors, child temperament, parent-child…

Four experienced stuttering researchers viewed videodisks of spontaneous speech from chronic stutterers and attempted to locate the precise onset and offset of individual stuttering events. Results showed interjudge disagreements that challenge the reliability and validity of onset and offset judgments. Highly agreed stuttering events were…

The movement away from strictly conventional evaluation practices and toward new and more responsive models of inquiry seems inescapable when one ponders the future of evaluation. A more activist-oriented and more stakeholder-oriented model of evaluation seems to be the future of the field. (SLD)