This paper describes eight problems faced by a school district evaluator in evaluating state-funded, compensatory education programs: determining evaluation ownership, determining the major constraints, determining what to evaluate, determining what methods to use, determining participant characteristics, determining instrumentation, determining…

This article discusses the importance of conducting an initial needs assessment as part of gifted program development. The paper describes data collection concerning the general student body, gifted population, school district personnel, school and school district, physical setting, economic factors, community, and national and state gifted…

A Web site can be the unifying force among schools with in a district. Many approaches work. Anyone who examines a few school district Web sites will appreciate the variation in content and design each provides. For example, Des Moines Iowa Public Schools, a district in which many in the community speak a second language, provides Web content in…

In 2007, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) completed an 18-month study of the costs of teacher turnover in five school districts. The selected districts varied in size, location, and demographics enabling exploration of how these variations affected costs. Costs of recruiting, hiring, processing, and training…

This article discusses the withdrawal of a publication that tracked British local education agency (LEA) trends in placement of pupils with disabilities in special schools. It describes the data problem encountered by counting pupils in non-LEA special schools within the boundaries of LEAs that did not place the students. (CR)

The purpose of this report is to comment on practice in the use of existing data bases in program evaluation and school improvement and to explore directions of increased and improved use. The report's impetus is the role that existing data plays in current efforts in local school districts and the possibilities for the future. To a great extent,…

The data collection program of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) should be designed for maximum reliability, validity, and manageability for all involved organizations. An adequate number of school districts should be sampled to produce useful data. Data should be more comparable between states if proper sampling techniques are…

Argues that most dropout prevention attempts have been hampered by the lack of an unbiased, coherent and easily accessible source of data on the total and at risk populations of young people. Provides preliminary data on several groups of students not characterized by traditional dropout descriptors. Offers recommendations for improvement in…

Existing evaluation data sources for educational software need to be supplemented by local judgments since evaluation processes differ depending on the ultimate user and purpose for which the information is gathered. School districts should select evaluation models and modify them for local need based on utility, feasibility, propriety and…

This paper analyzes data needs for policy purposes and is divided into three sections: (1) revenue and expenditure data; (2) human resources data; and (3) time and curriculum resources data. Federal data collection concerned with resources should identify the state as the unit of analysis, should broaden the definition of resources beyond revenues…

A conceptual synthesis is presented of the ways in which multilevel methods of data collection, analysis, interpretation and reporting can be used in instructional improvement activities in local school districts. This discussion of multilevel methods in school settings focuses on the "what" of information needs and usage. Principles and…

This is the fifth in a series of issue briefs to be written for The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement during 2006. In this brief, author Craig Jerald highlights research collected in the July 2005 special issue of the "Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk" to argue for collecting and using data to…

Those who study education policy have struggled to understand how money matters in education and why educational research finds no strong or consistent relationship between expenditures and student performance. The papers in this publication were commissioned by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to address the twin concerns of…

This paper explores the range of ways in which school districts are using Title I funds for early education through kindergarten and examines how the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has impacted those investments. It also makes recommendations for local education agencies (LEAs) interested in creating Title I-funded early education…

These proceedings contain the texts of 13 papers presented at a conference devoted to the development and use of employer surveys at the local level. Focus of the first paper is on using local employer surveys for Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) planning and determination of private sector employment and training needs. Examined…