The objective inmate classification system in use in California's prisons is described. Evaluation of 14,091 cases suggests that the system reduces the rate of increase in the incidence of serious prisoner misconduct. Empirical evaluation of the system is recommended, and implications for correctional programs and public policy are discussed. (SLD)

Strategies to avoid the penalties of extra variation described by J. Cornfield and reduced degrees of freedom in community-level trials were compared in Monte Carlo simulations. The three conditions necessary to ensure nominal Type I and Type II error rates are detailed. (SLD)

Explores sequential assignment (SA) and treatment-as-usual (TAU) as two approaches to overcome many of the obstacles of random assignment in field studies of treatment efficacy. Substituting SA and TAU for the standard random assignment may introduce methodological impurities including certain limited biases. (SLD)

Conducted a 2-year longitudinal study of the efforts of one school district to link site-based collaborative evaluation with formal, centralized program evaluation for its 17 middle schools. Participants formed a research team with a university. Analysis of plans at the end of the evaluation cycle shows that collaborative evaluation is creating a…

This study represents the first enumeration of the street homeless population in Canada. Past enumeration attempts have been challenged on their significant methodological shortcomings. This enumeration directly addressed the lessons learned from previous attempts, and improvements to the methodology are presented and discussed. In addition,…

This study investigated the effects of introducing a family planning counseling model at clinics of Peru's Ministry of Health. Providers trained in the model presented greater quality of care and longer counseling sessions than did controls. The main effects, however, were misleading. Nearly all of the quality improvements were contributed by 37%…

The purpose of this article is to review evidence concerning the joint impact of family characteristics and child care experiences in understanding children's development. Although child care experiences are related to children's development across a variety of domains, family characteristics, particularly socioeconomic status and parenting…

Evaluation research on vocational counseling in substance dependency treatment should distinguish between the effects of counselors and counseling methods on clients' employment outcomes. Three experimental designs permit investigation of possible confounds between these types of effects: (a) nested designs (each counselor delivers one counseling…

This article reports on how short scales can be used to assess the perceived risks that exist for decision makers, their perception of the decision context and their perceived information needs. Three scales are described: (1) a Decision Risk Scale; (2) a Decision Context Inventory; and (3) a Need for Information Inventory. (JAZ)

Decision Support Systems (DSS) are automated information systems designed to aid administrative decision making. A literature review on the design, implementation, and evaluation of DSS, suggests that evaluators act as liasons between designers and managers, identify and collect data for DSS, and evaluate DSS. (Author/EGS)

An econometric analysis, using a research design based on the nonequivalent control group (NECG), assessed the effectiveness of a program offering free evaporative coolers to low-income families owning air conditioners. The NECG controls for serious threats to internal validity, except for self-selection. The program successfully reduced energy…

An organizational development program was evaluated, which was implemented to reduce disorder in a Baltimore, Maryland, school. The Program Development Evaluation method was used. Increasing consistency of response to student discipline infractions, increasing rewards for appropriate behavior, and imposing peer and teacher support improved school…

A study was designed to test ordinal and interval properties of rating scales, similar to those commonly employed in evaluation research. The analysis was based on data generated by the use of paired comparisons and direct scales. The conclusion was reached that such rating scales appear to possess metric properties. (Author/LMO)

This article argues that evaluators must go further in mapping how clients' indigenous social structures complement or conflict with the centralized rational structure of program reforms. Evaluation of youth programs in Israel and the United States exemplifies how the respective social rules of program sponsor versus clients may be mutually…

In-house evaluators must develop evaluation procedures that accommodate not only their own professional standards but also the problem-solving styles of the organizations they serve. This article describes how a small sample of evaluators have adapted their methods to their contexts. (Author)