Program Evaluation Examples

The CEEE staff designs and conducts local program evaluations that focus on school reform issues related to standards and assessment, curriculum and program implementation for states, districts and schools. Examining the local contexts of districts and schools is another way that CEEE connects research to practice. CEEE conducts program evaluations in a variety of areas that support its mission of advancing education reform to improve achievement of all students in elementary and secondary schools.

• An Evaluation of the Montgomery County Public Schools English for Speakers of Other Languages Program
  To close the achievement gap between native English speakers and English language learners (ELLs), the Montgomery County school district commissioned CEEE to evaluate its program for English speakers of other languages (ESOL) in 2002. Through extensive interviews and focus groups; classroom observations; and careful review of curricular materials, policy documents, and achievement data, Center staff examined the programs and services Montgomery County offered its ELL students. In light of the Center's findings and recommendations, the district has developed an action plan to increase the effectiveness of the ESOL program. The GW/CEEE team is providing ongoing support to help Montgomery County implement its plan.
  
  
• Review of Special Education Program Student Records in Frederick County, Maryland
  A record review funded by the Maryland State Department of Education, was conducted to assess whether there are disparate records of African-American students in receipt of special education services in the Frederick County Public Schools and who form a disproportionate share of the program total for the 1998-99 school year. This important study was based on a review of student records conducted by a multi-racial team of educators, psychologists and educational diagnosticians. Central to the study were analyses of extant data on race, ethnicity, environment, and disability from the individual records of African American and white students. Report conclusions synthesized information obtained from student records, dialogue with Frederick County officials and team discussions. The report was completed in August 2000.
  

• Project OASIS (Oral Assessment of Students in Spanish)
  Project OASIS was funded through the Field-Initiated Studies program (Title VII, Part B) of the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA) of the U.S. Department of Education in 1995. Its purpose was to develop and validate a classroom-based observation instrument for assessing students' native language proficiency through action research with bilingual education teachers. The Spanish Language Assessment Oral (SLA-O) is based on the Massachusetts English Language Assessment - Oral (MELA-O), a classroom-based informal observation instrument for determining English Language Learners' (ELLs) oral proficiency in English. While the MELA-O, developed under the EAC East, was designed to assess oral proficiency in English, the SLA-O was designed to assess oral proficiency of students in Spanish as a first language. The SLA-O allows teachers to document important diagnostic information about students' language development, and to document development of native speakers of Spanish, allowing Spanish/English bilingual teachers to evaluate their efficacy in maintaining first language skills.

  The results of this project were the development of an observation-based instrument to assess the oral Spanish proficiency of Spanish-speaking children; the development of training materials and a training program to teach teachers how to use the instrument in their classrooms; the field testing of the training program in Fairfax County, VA and District of Columbia Public Schools; and, a preliminary validity and reliability study on the instrument.
  

• Migrant Trading Partners' Study
  Funded through the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Migrant Education, was a study of promising state and local practices that enhance the continuity of migrant students' education. The study involved carrying out four case studies of sites that act as partners in the education of migrant children, i.e., sites between which migrant families move. Preliminary reports of policy findings have been used by the U.S. Department of Education in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Documentation of the cases and the final technical report was completed in June 1999. The report was published by the Center in the fall of 1999.
  
  
  
• DC Public Schools Students and Teachers Achieving Results and Success (STARS)
  Three consecutive evaluations conducted by CEEE on DC Public Schools' Saturday, after-school, and summer supplemental education programs permit longitudinal analysis of various STARS programs. Evaluations address the degree to which target curricula, instructional methods, and systems of assessment were implemented as planned and the extent to which students have benefited academically from participation in STARS. Methodologies utilized include classroom observations, teacher surveys and interviews, student focus groups, and pre- and posttest statistical analysis of students' scores on standardized tests. Key findings across data sets suggest that relative to their non-participating peers, STARS students have realized improved test scores.
  
  
• Evaluation Assistance Center East (EAC East)
  The EAC East provided technical assistance in response to requests from State and local education agencies on topics such as the identification and referral of LEP students, student assessment, and the design and implementation of program evaluations. Programs for which the EAC East provided field support were funded under Title VII, including Transitional Bilingual Education Programs, Developmental Bilingual Education Programs, Special Alternative Instruction Programs, Academic Excellence Programs, and Family English Literacy Programs. During its tenure, EAC East provided professional development through on-site consultations, workshops, presentations, and off-site consultations conducted via telephone, fax or email. Its legacy includes: Promoting Excellence: Ensuring Academic Success for Limited English Proficient Students, a set of opportunity to learn standards and the MELA-O (Massachusetts English Language Assessment- Oral), an assessment instrument to assess the oral proficiency of students whose first language is other than English. The EAC East operated from 1991-1995.

  CEEE led the EAC East, which served 27 states in the eastern region of the country, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) collaborated in this endeavor. was one of two regional Evaluation Assistance Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA) under the Bilingual Education Act of 1988 (Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act).