Qualitative methods can do much to describe context and illuminate the why behind patterns encountered in institutional assessment. Alone, or in combination with quantitative methods, they should be the approach of choice for many of the most important assessment questions. (Contains 1 table.)

In September 1978, the Lenoir City (Tennessee) school system initiated in two elementary schools a volunteer tutoring program called the Retirement Power in Education Project (RPIE). Fourteen volunteers, including twelve retirees, were trained to use Laubach reading materials in tutoring fourth and seventh graders. In evaluating the project one…

The paper examines varieties of program assessment in institutions of higher education and proposes a procedure to implement systematic assessment of program outcomes. Presented in a question-and-answer format, the paper first addresses common faculty concerns about formal assessment in sections titled, "Why Not Use GPA (Grade Point Average)?" and…

This paper describes an evaluation of the Child Health and Development Project (CHDP), a home-based early intervention program designed to promote parenting skills and to foster the physical, social, and intellectual development of children from birth through 6 years. The project served families from six counties in East Tennessee through funding…

This report presents an evaluation of the career education leadership activities conducted in Tennessee in 1979-80, the first year of operation for Tennessee's five-year State Plan for Career Education. Section 1 addresses the relationship between the activities in the State Plan and a state-wide needs assessment. Sections 2-7 focus on assessment…

A review of externally mandated outcomes assessment activities and resulting innovations in freshman programs focuses on efforts in Tennessee and Virginia, in which higher education funding is linked to outcomes assessment. Areas examined include registration, advising, student-faculty contact, computer use, basic skills, staff development,…

The Knox County extended school year (ESY) program emphasized K-12 curriculum improvement. During the trial of the ESY scheduling and curriculum changes, there was an increase in English and social studies scores at the high school, an increase at all levels in the extent to which students perceived that individualization of instruction was taking…

A three-year trial of a voluntary quinmester plan for extending the school year began in June 1974 in five Knox County, Tennessee, schools. Curriculum revision, K-12, was the principal thrust of the ESY (Extended School Year) project, but administrators also hoped to relieve overcrowding in the schools and to effect more efficient use of…

This paper briefly presents a history of comprehensive examinations in higher education in the United States, characteristics of comprehensive exams, and the use of such exams in assessing program quality. This paper then focuses on the experience of 11 program faculties at the University of Tennessee (Knoxville), that developed and used exit…

Evaluation questionnaires were administered to more than 92 percent of the professional staff associated with the Knox County Extended School Year (ESY) Program during the summer and fall of 1974 and to more than half of the students enrolled in the summer quinmester, along with a random sample of 10 percent of the students enrolled in October…

The Tennessee Nutrition Education and Training (NET) program is part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture effort to develop a coordinated nutrition education program for children from preschool through grade 12. For this second-year evaluation, researchers associated with the University of Tennessee collected data for the evaluation of program…

Data from individual final project reports and evaluation reports prepared by external evaluators were compiled to evaluate the 17 local projects that were conducted in Tennessee during 1980-81 under the provisions of the Career Education Incentive Act. Included among those areas examined during the evaluation were the following: project…