State and local report cards help ensure local educational agencies (LEAs), parents, families, educators, and communities have critical data and a common framework for gauging educational progress and success. Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) requires States to annually share this important…

This publication provides an overview of the current federal opportunities to help states advance their data-related activities. Although not exhaustive, this list provides a starting point for federal policymakers to support states' work in this area.

The demands and expectations placed on all schools in the United States to meet the needs of a growing and diverse population continue to raise the questions, what needs to be done in order for all students to achieve success, and how can this success be measured? This study, researched and reported in the form of a dissertation, was performed on…

This is a workshop simulation and interpretation guide designed for Title I teachers and district personnel. The participants should have some experience with the norm-referenced evaluation model. They learn to interpret normal curve equivalents (NCE) and NCE gains. Participants are led through an interpretive hierarchy from simple, descriptive…

This study investigated the utility of Title I evaluation, and in particular, the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (TIERS). To examine utility, instances of evaluation use in state (SEA) and local education agencies (LEA) were identified, and the factors associated with that use were studied. Title I evaluation was used by SEAs to: insure…

Based on Leviton and Hughes' conceptualization of variable clusters that affect evaluation utilization, a procedure for measuring utilization potential was developed. Five clusters of variables are consistently related to utilization: relevance, credibility, communication, information processing, and user involvement and advocacy. The…

A setting is described in which an evaluation was used with significant impacts on policies and programs. Some of those impacts are delineated, types of utilization employed by staff within the system are illustrated, and conditions under which the evaluation was conducted to obtain such a high level of use are discussed. In the 1979-80 school…

The results of the experience of a Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for three months with a system for classifying and recording actual and planned tasks and activities are described and discussed. The area covered by this report includes 15 states in 3 geographic regions. Staff days planned and actually spent and trips planned and spent are…

Naturalistic research methods were used to analyze five case studies of school program evaluations. Interviews were conducted with program personnel and evaluators for the five programs, which were funded by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title I, Title III, or Title IV-C. Programs were: (1) Bayview: Project MORE, a program to improve…

An alternative is proposed to the legally required uniform procedures and criteria for reporting the results of Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I projects. It is suggested that Congress is unlikely to respond to nationwide impact data on the effectiveness of Title I even when such data are available. It is further proposed that the RMC…

Four problems underlying the delivery of technical assistance in Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I evaluation are discussed: (1) the dual missions of facilitating the implementation of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System and of facilitating the local use of evaluation information frequently require tradeoffs between…

A survey of administrators, teachers, and parents in 15 Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I school districts indicated that evaluations are used locally to meet federal and state requirements, to inform parents and staff, and to confirm positive attitudes toward a program. Standardized achievement tests, the backbone of Title I evaluations,…

The improvement and standardization of quality Title I evaluations at the local, state and federal levels is the intent underlying the development and dissemination of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I Evaluation and Reporting System. Even if the current suggested procedures were technically perfect, implementation of any…

Many of the evaluations summarized in state and local Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I reports have been negatively affected by methodological errors or the use of different, incompatible formats. Although new, detailed evaluation and reporting procedures have been developed for Title I research projects, two problems remain:…

Throwing the proverbial monkey wrench into the machinery "on paper" before a system begins functioning seems to be essential to program evaluation. This activity should be performed by the "resident skeptic" who is familiar with past resistance to change and who, being familiar with a program, is able to foresee theoretical and…