Prepared under Contract
#SED 92-55369
by
Westat, Inc.
October 1995
NSF Program Officer
Floraline Stevens
Directorate for Education
and Human Resources
Division of Research,
Evaluation and Dissemination
Kenneth Travers, former Director of the National Science Foundation's Division of Research, Evaluation and Dissemination (RED), was the first to suggest that evaluation forums could be of benefit to those responsible for the evaluations of federally funded educational projects, especially NSF Program Directors in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR). His contribution to the formation and early implementation of the forums will long be remembered.
The NSF Program Directors who responded to the call for assistance in planning the forums developed the format for the program and suggested topics and speakers. Their resourcefulness and commitment contributed greatly to the success of the EHR Evaluation Forums. Many thanks to evaluation theorist Michael Scriven, who was the first speaker at the first EHR Forum. Special thanks to Daryl Chubin, the current Director of RED, who saw the important contributions of the forums and gave his wholehearted support to continuing them.
Luther Williams, EHR Assistant Director, and his staff provided support and encouragement for the concept and implementation of the EHR Evaluation Forums, and the EHR Division Directors and their Program Directors showed their support by attending the forums for 2 years. Special mention must also be given to the loyal RED Program Directors who attended the forums and to those among them who volunteered to be speakers. It was their core support that made the forums successful.
Lastly, thanks to Joy Frechtling and Joan Michie of Westat, Inc., who handled the logistics of getting out-of-town speakers to and from the forums in good and bad weather. They made the task much easier for NSF staff.
-Floraline Stevens
This report is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF contract SED 92-55369. Any opinions, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this report are thos of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Preface
Floraline I. Stevens
Education Program Evaluation at NSF: What Difference Does It Make?
Daryl E. Chubin
Interagency Efforts to Review and Evaluate Science, Mathematics,
and Engineering Programs Through the Federal Coordinating Council
on Science and Engineering Technology
Joan L. Herman, James S. Dietz, Conrad G. Katzenmeyer
Fostering Change in Science Education
James D. Ellis
Practices that Support Teacher Development: Transforming Conceptions
of Professional Learning
Ann Lieberman
Working, Thinking, and Assessment
Lauren B. Resnick
Equity: Providing Equal Access to Powerful Ideas
Richard Lesh
Enhancing the Success of African American Students in the Sciences:
Freshman Year Outcomes
Kenneth I. Maton, Freeman A. Hrabowski III
