This paper synthesizes the existing literature on stakeholder involvement in program evaluation, drawing a basic distinction between deep involvement of a few versus less active involvement of a broad range of stakeholders. The paper then comments on the case studies described in this special issue and integrates them with previously published…

Data from the "Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Study" (Currie, Samdal, Boyce, & Smith, 2001) were used to analyze the differences in perceptions of educational experiences among over 10,000 sixth to tenth graders of different grades, genders, races and ethnicities. The relationships between students' evaluations of their school experiences…

Opportunity to learn is considered an important contributing factor in learning outcomes. In some of the latest international comparative studies of mathematics achievement, such as SIMS and TIMSS, painstaking efforts have been made to find out what the participating students' opportunities to learn mathematics had been. However, there have been…

Operationalizes the new educational assessment culture. Outlines developments in the field of learning and instruction and their effects on student assessment. Also reviews five frequently used assessment methods that fit into the new culture. Explores the notion of construct validity as it applies to educational measurement. (SLD)

Integrates research on educational indicators with that of school profiles to frame relevant issues that states, school districts, and schools should address as they develop or update school profiles. Current practice in designing report cards appears to have resulted in a proliferation of indicators with little demonstrated statistical…

Focuses on the evaluative use of teaching portfolios for personnel decisions in higher education and compares claims for their merits against fundamental research on evaluating faculty teaching. Draws on the literature on teaching portfolio development and suggests meta-analysis to examine the impact of using portfolios for personnel decisions.…

This overview of educational evaluation in the Netherlands provides background and details the state of the art in student, curriculum, and innovation evaluation. The role of international evaluation issues (such as evaluation criteria and the decision-making process) in evaluation theory and practice in The Netherlands is discussed. (BS)

Factors associated with the use of program evaluation results are examined. Evaluation can serve a variety of educational management needs if (1) these needs are organized around a central concern, and if (2) stakeholders use evaluation information so that their decision making resolves the central concern. (GDC)

Factors which appear to affect learning are reviewed: student characteristics of age, ability, and motivation; amount and quality of instruction; home and classroom environment; peer influence; television; school and principal effects; and financial expenditures. (GDC)

Programs to educate severely handicapped children have usually been evaluated with respect to student achievement. Although this approach is reasonable, a multivariate approach that examines the impact on the child's family may be more relevant. Programs to teach the parents and to reduce institutionalization should also be studied. (GDC)

Six journals containing 1,913 empirical studies are reviewed for trends in special education research: Exceptional Children, Journal of Special Education, Journal of Learning Disabilities, American Journal of Mental Deficiency, Psychology in the Schools, and Journal of School Psychology. Type of exceptionality, research topic, and research design…

During the 1970s unprecedented attention has been directed internationally to the conceptualization, assessment, and study of classroom learning environment. This paper introduces and classifies eight papers appearing in the same journal which integrate past research on classroom environment and identify recent developments which could influence…

An analytical, integrating perspective on much of the classroom environment research conducted in the 1970s is provided. The initial development of the Learning Environment Inventory and original research programs are described. (RL)

An analytical and integrating perspective on much of the classroom environment research conducted in the 1970s is provided. The Classroom Environment Scale is described, and an overview of many studies which have used this and other instruments for various research purposes is presented. (RL)

The influence of both the school and the family on student achievement is studied, and a foundation for future research incorporating both classroom and family environment variables is provided. (RL)