Performance-based accountability along with budget tightening has increased pressure on publicly funded organizations to develop and deliver programs that produce meaningful social benefits. As a result, there is increasing need to undertake formative evaluations that estimate preliminary program outcomes and identify promising program components…

Hamilton County, Tennessee, engaged in a multi-year effort to improve teaching in a group of eight central city elementary schools. This reform, known as the Benwood Initiative, was funded with $5 million from the Chattanooga-based Benwood Foundation. Student achievement improved dramatically as a result of this initiative. The Benwood successes…