Problems when developing and operating a successful student assessment program are described. Potential problems and solutions in three major areas are examined: the purposes and definitions of assessment, program implementation, and assessment designs and methods. (Author/MLW)

Examined stability of young children's behavior problems and effectiveness of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy in 32 families. Found no significant differences between waitlist-control and treatment groups at time of referral on Child Behavior Checklist, Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory, and Parenting Stress Index. Behavior of treatment group…

Responds to Gilliam et al.'s critique of evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP). Restates the policy implications of the study and comments on the design of the intervention and the evaluation. Concludes with remarks on how evaluation and research should be used to help low-income families. (Author/KB)

Assertive community treatment (ACT) has been applied to a number of disorders in the adult population, such as schizophrenia, with some degree of success; its use in the treatment of people with intellectual disability (ID) and mental illness has received little attention. Despite the high costs of ID in health and social care, there has been very…

Background: Even though action research has been employed in an increasing number of fields of practice including teaching, nursing, and business, application in learning has been scarcely reported. This case study is one of the first attempts to apply action research principles to help learners improve their learning performance. Purpose: This…

Although an extensive body of literature exists on Head Start, only a small part of this literature is program impact research. The body of existing research is inadequate in size, quality, and comparability for use in drawing conclusions about the impact of Head Start in any area in which Head Start provides services. This report from the General…

In response to 1986 state legislation calling for improvements in college effectiveness and accountability, the California Community Colleges began various efforts to promote the evaluation of matriculation. One effort, the Matriculation Local Research Options Project, was formed in 1989 to develop models for local evaluation of matriculation and…

This paper reviews five broad types of research that are designed to determine whether or how teacher education has made a difference to teachers. The five genres consist of: (1) a line of reasoning about where one might look for the effects of teacher education and how one might design a research study to see the impact of teacher education; (2)…

This paper reviews the following studies on the cost-effectiveness of the Chapter 1 compensatory education program: (1) Sustaining Effects Study; (2) Tallmadge Study; (3) the Kiesling Study for Rand; (4) Instructional Dimensions Study; (5) Response to Educational Needs Project Cost-Effectiveness Study; (6) Educational Testing Service/Ragosta…

This report synthesizes findings of five conferences funded by the National Institute of Education (NIE) to plan new Follow Through research. In particular, conference discussions focused on the notion of systematic change; time-on-task as the most promising strategy for success; and encouragement of principal and teacher support for implementing…

Following a discussion of various methods of evaluating the effectiveness of developmental programs, this paper presents a research design for the evaluation of a developmental math program. First, the paper examines the objectives and benefits of conducting formative and summative program evaluations. The paper then identifies the single group…

This project experimentally evaluated the computer-based instruction (CBI) technology of the PLATO IV system. The approach was to conduct a set of eight research studies in different Navy training application areas. Short titles of the studies were: (1) remedial math, (2) oscilloscope simulation, (3) sine ratio, (4) multimeter simulation, (5)…

This workbook, which accompanies An Evaluation Primer (TM 007 500) consists of 19 practical exercises for applying evaluation skills to hypothetical educational programs. Each chapter corresponds to a chapter in the primer, with answers keyed accordingly. Intended to provide an introduction to evaluation, the exercises include: identifying the…

The state of the art in observational studies is discussed, with emphasis on explanatory research--studies of program effectiveness in which an attempt is made to explain the reasons for the results as well as describing the results. In addition to the collection of data and presentation of statistical facts, the explanatory study involves the…

The National Study of Effective Title I Schoolwide Programs was initiated to address the lack of information on how schoolwide programs affect teaching and learning and student outcomes and to develop a critical empirical base for strengthening the implementation of Title I programs in service of students in high poverty schools. This paper…