In this account of the drafting of the Evaluation Research Society (ERS) Standards, the author notes that the committee was concerned not only with a broad range of evaluation applications, but also with different forms of evaluation. The absence of specificity in the standards reflects the committee's steering between opposing views. (Author/LC)

It is a commonly held assumption that Harvard-trained rhetoricians during the late 19th and early 20th centuries were concerned mainly with superficial mechanical correction, and, further, that they dissociated student writing from any meaningful context and contributed to the division between composition and literature. Howard James Savage was…

In order for health program evaluation to keep up with the evolution of disease patterns and epidemiology, a systems approach is proposed. Recommendations are made for the essential element in such an approach, namely, an integrated, comprehensive data base. (Author/AL)

The history of the U.S. Office of Education's (OE) relationship with private accrediting agencies is traced. "Criteria for Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies and Associations" have been used to determine which accrediting agencies and associations are reliable authorities for identifying the quality of training offered by…

Considers student-teacher observation and evaluation as processes that define proper behavior and construct social forms of teaching behavior. Discusses documentary records on student-teachers' development. Analyzes nineteenth-century Training Registers of the Ontario Provincial Model School in terms of students' characteristics and evaluations,…

Describes the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) approach toward research and development and provides an overview of this issue that highlights CTW. The CTW model of research and development is explained; formative and summative evaluation are discussed; and changing learning environments at home, at school, and in the community are considered.…

Presents statements of concern about the Association for Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development (AMECD) by 17 of the first 20 presidents of the division since its founding in 1965. Discusses historical perspectives, membership trends, changing needs of members, and shifting focus of the organization. (JAC)

Notes that numerous dysfunctions have roots in interpersonal problems rather than in individual, intrapsychic distress. Discusses movement toward developing diagnostic system that depicts/classifies relational disorders, and efforts of proponents to include relational disorders in future versions of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental…

The history of the inclusion of an evaluation component in Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I programs is reviewed, specifically the Education Amendments of 1978, or Public Law 95-561. This law requires yearly needs assessment of students in all eligible areas, as well as the identification of instructional areas and special needs of…

Discusses evaluation of higher education in Brazil, including the Institutional Evaluation Program of the Brazilian Universities (PAIUB) and its replacement by a National Examination of Study Diplomas. Describes background, early initiatives regarding quality, and the new governmental approach to quality evaluation (including the new political…

Documents the history of library automation from a business perspective, examining several topics relating to characteristics of vendors, the library automation marketplace, and the measurement of vendor performance and success. Tables list library automation system vendors and outline quantitative measures of vendor performance. (138 references)…

This paper serves a dual purpose: (1) it provides a framework for the more specialized papers of this journal issue, which surveys the state of educational assessment and evaluation in the Federal Republic of Germany; and (2) it illustrates the controversial developments that have led to the present state of educational measurement. (PN)

Professional educators must be aware of issues involved pertaining to the development of relevant objectives, learning experiences, and evaluation procedures to be used in teaching-learning situations, and these issues should be clarified in terms of the thinking of selected educators of the past as well as leading professionals in the field of…

This article presents the goals and objectives of the Home Start Program, a description of the program, evaluation results, dissemination and replication outcomes, and results of a longitudinal research study of Home Start. The article concludes with implications for family policy as inferred from findings regarding Home Start. (DB)

The historical development of current controversy over the use of quantitative or qualitative approaches in evaluation is traced. (Author/PN)