Only two of the most popular school improvement models for elementary schools have "moderately strong" evidence to show that they work, according to a consumer-style guide released last week by a Washington-based research group. The federally financed report by the American Institutes for Research rates 22 of the most widely used…

In this article, the author gives steps on evaluating programs. The first step is to demystify the concept with the staff. The next step is to clarify the evaluation procedure. Among other things, the author gives ideas on developing an internal evaluation as well as setting program goals.

Historically, one of the central concerns that has plagued the field of teacher education is the observation that "fragmentation" characterizes the experience of learning to teach. Too often, university-based teacher education programs consist of a set of disconnected individual courses; separate clinical work from coursework; and lack a vision of…

Using a case example of one of the mental health agencies in Florida, we demonstrate the utility of concept mapping for developing a program logic model and articulating a program theory for program assessment. The results of the concept mapping procedure enabled identification of 100 program services as described in statements by staff. Moreover,…

Studied the nature of barriers to the implementation of external program evaluation through interviews with 18 staff members of a university outreach program. Findings reinforce the importance of a trusting relationship to avoid barriers to evaluation implementation. (SLD)

Alert and aggressive parents will always work the educational system to get the best for their children. School choice programs should be compared against the real performance of the current public education system, not its idealized aspirations. (SLD)

Obesity is a major problem for people in the United States. Individuals with mental retardation also are prone to obesity. The most successful programs for treating obesity typically are treatment packages consisting of multiple behavioral components. Research in the area of weight loss and mental retardation has not evaluated programs for…

This study chronicles the transformation of a master's program from a traditional degree format to a more integrated, flexible, efficient, and relevant approach. The transformative strategies involve cohort learning, creative concentrations, portfolio documentation, and outreach presentation. Through integrating resources and goals, the new…

Community-based organizations (CBOs), typically small and underfunded with transient staff members, are told by funders to care for clients and verify program value. To assist CBOs with evaluations that speak to program effectiveness, many funders wish to expand the evaluation capacity of CBO staff members so that evaluation will occur as long as…

The purpose of the present study was to examine a common practice in some areas of program evaluation, the retrospective pretest, and to present recommendations regarding its use. The authors review literature to emphasize first, that bias is likely in both prospective and retrospective ratings, and second, that under some circumstances,…

This article outlines the efforts of the California State University, East Bay Department of Educational Leadership to develop, nurture and implement leadership department partnerships with local school districts. This case study reports on how one such partnership developed and the lessons learned from it. Included is a set of partnership…

The editors give each of the theorists a chance to respond to questions posed about the context of the situation in relation to their own experience in the field, exploring how the exercise had an impact on their evaluation designs.

The need for character education is apparent in the statistics regarding school violence, absenteeism, drop out rates, and achievement. The directive has been sent out by the government to get the job done. This manuscript examines a number of studies that claim to provide evidence that character education programs work, and others that provide…

Purpose: To propose an evaluation model for the quality implementations in higher education through an analysis of quality systems and program evaluation using a systems approach. Design/methodology/approach: Theoretical background, research and practice of the quality systems in higher education and program evaluation are analysed in conjunction…

The purpose of this article is to present a basis for evaluating the effectiveness of programs and services for at-risk children and youth. An instrument designed to identify most at risk to least at risk students is presented along with examples of how to assess and evaluate program effectiveness utilizing the instrument. The primary intent of…