This article provides an overview of the contexts, the key features, and the evidentiary data--the criteria regarding candidates to engage in administrative work--for five innovative principal preparation programs. Short case studies and cross-case analysis of the sample programs are used to provide thorough descriptions. The five programs in fact…

After several years in which only superficial outcomes measures were used to evaluate grants funded by the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), the Illinois State University Center for the Study of Education Policy piloted a new approach by which real project assessment could be embedded in Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) project designs…

Renovation and construction of Texas public schools is occurring at a rapid pace and at high prices. Business continues to blossom in the area of school construction. Several factors influence the need to renovate or construct schools, but the impact curriculum mandates have on school construction is seldom explored. This study investigated the…

Student learning portfolios have become increasingly popular in educational administration preparation programs due to their many uses and range of applications. Here, Norton documents the nature and extent of its usage nationwide. (Contains 7 tables.)

Many colleges and universities have developed various kinds of formal faculty mentoring programs in response to (1) the benefit some faculty can gain from guidance as they pursue tenure, appointments, salary increases, and professional recognition; and (2) the poor quality of undergraduate teaching at many academic institutions. The purpose of…

Reviews literature on preparation programs in educational administration programs that led to changes in the educational administration program at Southwest Texas State University in 1995. Uses focus group methodology to obtain student views of program experiences. (Contains 31 references.) (PKP)

Phenomenological analysis of Appalachian principals' evaluation of the appropriateness and effectiveness of their preservice preparation programs. Finds that effective preservice preparation requires curricula that are more closely aligned with conditions of practice, a meaningful internship/apprenticeship experience, and the through exposition of…

Evaluates Palm Beach County School District's Safe School Center tutorial program, a summer-school program for middle-school students who failed subjects during the academic year. Describes program successes, failures, and lessons learned. (Contains 38 references.) (PKP)

Activity analysis is an approach to the development of an improved evaluation design through the systematic delineation and analysis of the activities inherent in each of the global objectives of an ongoing program. (Author)

Present practice of continually seeking new assessment devices to replace older ones may not be as fruitful an approach to improving evaluation as careful attention to the way present information is handled. Improving methods of feedback could offer significant overall gains in the evaluation process in higher education. (Author/WM)

This discussion has outlined the role played by program costs in the three-stage policy process--policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy evaluation. It has described both the relevance and a framework for education policy evaluation. (Author/IRT)

Lists 60 problems (and suggestions for their solution) that arose during the adoption of a management by objectives program, were suggested by that experience, or came out of the literature. (IRT)

This paper provides cost-effectiveness measures that can be used for analyzing secondary vocational programs in terms of program effectiveness against cost-efficiency. (Author/IRT)

Present federal methods of monitoring the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) only verify compliance with the law. They do not evaluate the law's effectiveness in improving disabled children's functional abilities. A number of educational parameters and outcomes can be used to measure PL 94-142's efficacy. (RW)

The program evaluation process at the University of Houston, involving self-studies by academic departments and review by outside evaluation teams, is described. The process considers educational goals and objectives, as well as the quality of students, faculty, and facilities. (PGD)