Program portrayal is one way of addressing the need for increased descriptive capability in evaluation research. Portrayal supplements traditional reporting by utilizing subjective, anecdotal, or impressionistic information, in an appropriately communicable form, to enrich the description of program transactions, settings, and outcomes. It is…

Perceptions of evaluation held by principals, superintendents, and school board members were investigated. The study's instrument, a brief survey, was sent to a nationwide random sample of administrators. Dependent variables focused on the following general areas of concern: the users' perceptions of evaluation, including how useful they find its…

To upgrade research and research utilization competence of vocational educators, The Center for Vocational and Technical Education and The American Vocational Association planned four 1-week research training programs on: (1) Planning Vocational/Technical Education Programs Based on Manpower Research, (2) Patterns of Career Development as Applied…

This document reviews the Virginia Research Utilization Specialist (RUS) project which began in 1969 to assist in demonstrating effective methods of research utilization in the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies. Nine RUS personnel were involved in the demonstration project and developed the following activities: (1) work on a statewide…

Strength and integrity issues are central to planning and interpreting evaluation studies. In the absence of actual data from previous studies, estimates of strength and integrity can often be derived in other ways. These issues of strength and integrity are described in the context of resource allocation in evaluation research. (Author/BS)

A critical review of the Preservice Teacher Education Improvement Project observes both the project as a whole and the efforts of the various institutions involved. An alternative view for improving teacher education programs is suggested. (DF)

Case studies of educational program evaluations demonstrate that utilization of evaluative information occurs; however, its forms and the forces influencing utilization are complex. Naturalistic methods were used to study utilization. (See RIE: ED 174 666). (Available from: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 433 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104, single…

This study attempted to identify efforts to evaluate programs for gifted and talented students in 122 Texas school districts and to compare these practices with those recommended in the literature and with Texas Education Association guidelines. Areas examined included informal and formal assessment of student and teacher identification practices,…

This article discusses the experiences of the Research Utilization Laboratory (RUL) of the Chicago Jewish Vocational Service over a five-year period. The topic is approached in terms of the elements involved in the utilization of research and in terms of the problems the RUL encountered. (Author)

To examine programs currently in place, an evaluation model was designed to insure inclusion of all those who have a stake in program performance. The evaluation design includes: (1) a set of researchable questions which are to be answered by the evaluation, each question referenced to one or more appropriate audiences; (2) for each question, the…

As part of the evaluation study of the Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program of the National Institute of Education (NIE), researchers interviewed 14 educational policy makers in the federal Department of Education, in the NIE, and on congressional committee staffs to discover their reactions to preliminary RDU findings. The four…

This document reports on dissemination lectures that inform the educational research community about the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). In the first two chapters, the background leading to the dissemination lectures, the procedures used by the project staff to accomplish dissemination objectives, and the methodological procedures…

This is the third issue of "The Evaluation Exchange" devoted entirely to the theme of methodology, though every issue tries to identify new methodological choices, the instructive ways in which people have applied or combined different methods, and emerging methodological trends. For example, lately "theories of change" have gained almost…

This paper describes the experiences of Colorado Springs School District Eleven in using multiple measures to determine if third graders were reading at "grade level." The use of multiple measures may be threatened by the rapidly increasing pressures about assessment and accountability in Colorado that teachers are beginning to feel that…