Advises principals to back up their impressions of teachers' performance by using three types of documentation: informal (logging incidents and actions during the school year), formal (classroom observations); and summative (year-end, written evaluations of each teacher's overall performance). Sound instructional leadership requires documentation…

Assessment of welfare gains from a targeted social program can be seriously biased unless the endogeneity of program participation is addressed. Bias comes from two sources of placement endogeneity: the purposive targeting of geographic areas, and the targeting of individual recipients within selected areas. Partial decentralization of program…

Assessment of elementary school students' knowledge about science is essential. Despite the existence of curricular materials and assessment tools for science content and concepts at all grade levels, there is very little information on how to assess the science process skills that students are expected to learn through science instruction. This…

This document is comprised of the 1997 issues of a quarterly newsletter of the Harvard Family Research Project, designed to share new ideas and experiences in evaluating systems reform and comprehensive child and family services. The first issue focuses on evaluation methodology and includes articles on the following topics: (1) mixing evaluation…

This digest addresses the role of evaluation and its basic logic, and provides a description of how the field is structured. In order to reach evaluative conclusions it is usually necessary to establish or identify factual promises and value premises. To obtain the required kind of overall evaluative conclusion, it is typically necessary to…

Although targeted explicitly at changing adult behaviors and outcomes, welfare reform has direct implications for children. This guidebook details the results of the Project on State-Level Child Outcomes, designed to assist states in measuring child outcomes in the context of welfare reform programs. The guidebook is presented in three sections.…

Presents a critique of the traditional model of teacher evaluation, arguing that the process is based on an objective view of knowledge and does not recognize or value teachers' personal practical knowledge. Uses the author's experiences of being evaluated (positively) for promotion to develop criticisms and arguments. (35 citations) (MAB)

Focuses on findings of a report on the national accreditation and quality improvement system for Australian long-day child- care centers. Concludes that the report was a premature evaluation based on a biased sample and nonvalidated data of uncertain accuracy from a single category of participants. (HTH)

Examines a popular perceptual construct, user satisfaction, through a review of information systems effectiveness literature. Problems with this construct are highlighted, social psychology literature is used to clarify these problems, and principles are offered for utilizing user satisfaction as a measure of information systems effectiveness.…

This article demonstrates how individual differences in scripts are found in verbal reports of everyday activities as well as memory for new events, those commonly used in language placement. It is concluded from previous research that in any assessment not actively discouraging idiosyncrasies individual differences will naturally result. (PB)

Use-oriented approaches to evaluation have been challenged by contentions that the responsiveness of such evaluations undermines their technical quality. This discussion analyzes purported conflicts between these evaluation criteria of utility and accuracy by examining underlying assumptions related to evaluation's purpose and politics. (TJH)

Compares the responses of administrators, teachers, parents, and students to a questionnaire about purposes, communication qualities, effects, and philosophy of student evaluations. Suggests evaluations can serve as positive educational motivators that reward student efforts and enhance student learning, while avoiding critical, negative,…

Looks at the validity and value of performance indicators used to allocate resources among and within British universities. Questions the relationship of performance indicators with actual quality of research and teaching. Considers the limited role of such indicators within a more appropriate system of appraisal. (Author/LS)

Reviews current educational software evaluation methods, highlights problems, and describes the York Educational Software Evaluation Scales (YESES), an alternative criterion based model. Panel evaluation used by YESES is explained and YESES results are compared with evaluations from the Educational Products Information Exchange (EPIE) to indicate…

To explore the treatment fidelity of employee safety-belt programs, 614 organizations were divided into 2 groups: those that had (n=183), and those that had not (n=431) conducted an evaluation. Multiple regression analysis of associated data indicated that evaluation-active organizations were generally more active in other program areas. (TJH)