This guide for district and school leaders shows how to recognize opportunities to embed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) into planned policies or programs. Opportunistic RCTs can generate strong evidence for informing education decisions--with minimal added cost and disruption. The guide also outlines the key steps to conduct RCTs and responds…

Using data strategically to guide decisions and actions can have a positive effect on education practices and processes. This facilitation guide shows education data teams how to move beyond simply reporting data to applying data to direct strategic action. Using guiding questions, suggested activities, and activity forms, this guide provides…

This book provides a uniquely accessible introduction to multilevel modeling, a powerful tool for analyzing relationships between an individual level dependent variable, such as student reading achievement, and individual-level and contextual explanatory factors, such as gender and neighborhood quality. Helping readers build on the statistical…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on a research project that identified organisational critical success factors (CSFs) for e-learning implementation in higher education (HE). These CSFs can be used as a theoretical foundation upon which to base decision-making and strategic thinking about e-learning. Design/methodology/approach: The…

Institutional comparison groups can be selected in several ways, depending on the comparison issue. The method chosen involves both technical and political considerations. (Author/MSE)

The Project on Secondary Analysis directed its attention to methodology and policy issues, focusing on reanalysis of existing data (1979-82)--surveys, program evaluations, etc.--as a vehicle for learning how to improve methods of obtaining and analyzing data, designing program evaluations, and constructing policy to enhance the quality and utility…

Third in a series, the monograph summarizes the key evaluation issues, design approaches, and statistical techniques used in conducting the 1980-1983 impact evaluation of Indian Education Act Title IV Part A programs. The monograph describes the major problems in evaluating the program to determine the degree of its positive contribution to…

Demonstrates how case study evaluation concentrates on a single situation to present a holistic view of an experiential learning program and reveals unique and unanticipated features. Outlines steps of planning, gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, and reporting data and considers the advantages and disadvantages of the case study approach. (LFL)

This 1982-83 statistical survey of libraries at four-year colleges and universities, two-year colleges, law libraries and miscellaneous academic institutions in the Pacific Northwest provides relevant data for comparison and inventory purposes. A total of 129 institutions responded to the questionnaire which was administered by the Pacific…

This paper presents principles that should be considered in planning and interpreting studies of outcomes of interventions with children receiving mental health services. Principles to consider when planning outcome studies include recognizing that "outcome" refers to multiple rather than single domains and choosing outcome domains that…

Successful college enrollment management requires information about the institution's image, effectiveness of recruiting activities, role of financial aid, student persistence, and alumni success. Enrollment managers must review the literature, develop a performance monitoring system, construct longitudinal cohort tracking files, identify student…

This report is the fifth biennial survey of statistical information on 116 Pacific Northwest academic libraries. After an introduction which explains the data collection process and identifies some possible trends in the data, data tables present information for each of the institutions surveyed according to institutional category: four-year…

This guide is intended to assist states and service delivery areas (SDAs) in addressing the new oversight responsibilities and opportunities stipulated by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) with respect to net impact evaluations. The first chapter contrasts the objectives and provisions of JTPA with those of the Comprehensive Employment and…

This monograph, based on a conceptual model called an information support circle, describes a structured management process that can be used by higher education institutions to add value to institutional data and information. The model offers a sequence of (1) thinking about the management and use of data, (2) considering problems in providing…

Student satisfaction surveys assess satisfaction with various facets of the university and includes key sets of questions on programs and services, university learning and social environment, university mission and values, educational preparation, transfer intent, general satisfaction, attitudes toward coursework, and student demographic…