The value and limitations of conceptualizing evaluation as a decision-oriented research and appraisal activity is discussed. The decisional contexts of evaluation projects is examined in terms of a comparison between two models of organization decision making. Certain remedies for problems arising from attempts to enhance decisional relevance of…

One of the most important stages in evaluation is the reporting process. A variety of reports may be prepared, each serving a different function, including: progress report, final report, technical report, media report, and executive summary. The reporting process continues throughout the conduct of an evaluation. (Author/JAZ)

This article reviews experiences in the United States over the past 15 years in developing standards to guide and assess the work of professional evaluators. It introduces the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation's "Program Evaluation Standards" and overviews the Committee's project to develop "Educational Personnel Evaluation…

Variables which affect students' academic motivation, and thus, school learning, are discussed. Recent research has built on the model presented by Carroll in 1963. Research on the following concepts is reviewed: active learning time; academic motivation, significant others; sex of student; context of learning; and affective factors. (GDC)

The fields of information processing, motivation, and metacognition are included in this review of research on student motivation. The multidisciplinary approach is discussed, as are the differences between achievement motivation and intrinsic motivation, and various learning models. (GDC)

A causal model of a cycle of student performance is proposed. Two investigations were conducted in Australia, studying individuals and classrooms. Attitudes toward, and achievement in, mathematics and science were measured. The roles of attentiveness and teachers' use of time were also studied. (GDC)

Five statistical techniques were used to analyze the data collected in a previous article (TM 511 223) on student achievement, attention, and motivation in secondary school mathematics and science: ordinary least squares regression, canonical correlation, factorial modeling, partial least squares path analysis, and linear structural relations…

Regression analyses examined the relationships among: time spent (periods and hours per week) studying science; time allocated for science homework; time used by teacher; and time not spent in learning. The performance cycle model of achievement, aspiration, and attitude was supported at the between classrooms level. (GDC)

The results of this issue's series of articles are summarized, and implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed. Initial academic achievement was the strongest predictor of student achievement. The impact of attentiveness, motivation, student background, sex, and time on task were also described. (GDC)

This monograph represents a major nationwide study on the efficacy of teaching health education and its effects on learning outcomes. The School Health Education Evaluation examined effectiveness of the School Health Curriculum Project and three additional health instruction programs in grades 4 through 7, from May 1981 to January 1985. (LMO)

The Norwegian Basic School is discussed in light of several concepts of general education: pragmatism (emphasizing either processes or specified skills); knowledge-centered perspective; polytechnical perspective; and radical critique of schooling under capitalism. Egalitarian political forces in Norway during the last century are also reviewed.…

To reduce problems in comparing gains in the rate of students who progress to the next level of education, a nonlinear transformation is recommended. Two such transformations, probits and logits, are presented. Log linear models are recommended for an appropriate statistical test of sampling error. (Author/GDC)

A sample of a longitudinal study consisted of 95 pupils and their parents interviewed when children were 11-12 and 16-17. Analysis of variance showed four homogeneous groups in regard to child's mastery of learning and family's related modes of activity in learning. (Author/LMO)

Potential interactions between four factors of educational interest within small group research were studied: (1) type of problem; (2) group composition; (3) group norm; and (4) group productivity. Reliable interactions were obtained for: (1) sex x group norm; (2) sex x group norm x productivity; and (3) type of problem x productivity. (Author/LMO)

Changes in intelligence among Swedish 13-year-olds during a 20-year period was studied. Results show: (1) the average of spatial and reasoning intelligence has risen; (2) verbal intelligence increased during the 1960s, but declined thereafter; and (3) by the 1980s girls surpassed in verbal ability and equalled in spatial ability. (Author/LMO)