The benefits accrued through the use of triangulation as both a design strategy and an analytic tool cannot be overstated. Triangulation allows for the clustering and organizing of disparate yet related data. Finding out what the data have in common and how the data are different allow the researcher to eliminate (or reduce) the number of…

Describes the a-e-I-o-u program evaluation approach, a framework for organizing key evaluation questions that allows for many models of evaluation and/or methods of data collection. Evaluations by users of the approach have indicated that it provides a practical way to organize evaluation questions and collect appropriate data. (GCP)

This article explains a performance-oriented approach to outlining technical training needs. The performance improvement cycle is discussed and the three main activities in that cycle are described. They include need detection, task identification, and collection of task performance data. (CT)

This report describes and evaluates the initial data collection system of the Department of Labor's Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and focuses on recently proposed revisions to reporting requirements. Focus is placed on the collection of data on the Title II program for disadvantaged youths and adults. After describing the system generally,…

Good reforms can have harmful results if equity effects are ignored. As California implements its accountability system, certain questions must be addressed concerning the system's data use, measurement features (consistency, meaningfulness, achievement growth, achievement gaps among groups), instructional improvement focus, incentives for…

This article describes and compares two job analysis procedures, task inventory analysis and Position Analysis Questionnaire. It provides comparisons in terms of the characteristics of, the activities involved in, and the results derived from a study utilizing each of the techniques. (Author/CT)

Examines pitfalls in analyzing school-level data, particularly expenditure data. Examples come from Ohio's experience with creating usable data structures for examining school-level information, aided by a statewide, complex, multipurpose Education Management Information System (EMIS). Since districts can choose different reporting software…

Describes school-level K-12 revenue and expenditure data collection in California, Texas, Florida, and Minnesota. Neither California nor Minnesota collects school-site fiscal data. Florida's highly advanced district and school-level data collection system has inconsistently reported standardized test scores. Texas has developed a good database to…

Each year, school districts in every state are required to file various financial reporting forms with their state education agency. Although these documents are often viewed more as a nuisance than a useful planning tool, they represent a wealth of information rarely exploited to full advantage by state or local policy makers. The research…

Studies of the use of ethnography as an evaluation tool in large-scale contract research studies were reviewed before data collection and design decisions were finalized in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP). Five tasks had to be accomplished before data collection could begin: study sites were selected, a system for data collection was…

Minnesota spends more for education than most states and has increased its financial commitment steadily over the past 15 years. Because of the state's dominant role in education funding, legislators have enacted measures requiring all local school districts to follow uniform financial accounting and reporting standards (UFARS). Since 1980, the…

This special issue provides diverse data sets on a school-improvement initiative in Memphis, Tennessee. The effort seems unusually promising because of top-down district support for eight separate site-based reform designs, planners' reliance on New American Schools and other familiar designs, long-term data-collection opportunities, accessible…

Describes theoretical developments that have guided the interpretation of findings in a large-scale study of the development of aggression over 22 years. As the data have accumulated, they have been found to be relevant to operant formulations as well as to social learning theory and cognitive behaviorism. (Author/VM)

Principal job satisfaction is a neglected research area. This article considers existing data and introduces the Nominal Group Technique as a possible data-collection method. Results of the author's research with secondary headteachers in northern England are presented and discussed. Headteacher development and a substantive theoretical base for…

This document provides a summary and evaluation of the methodological procedures and results of the full-scale implementation of the Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Study Second Follow-up, 1990-94 (BPS:90/94). The study was conducted for the National Center for Education Statistics by Research Triangle Institute with the assistance of…