Learning from Experience Evaluating Early Childhood Demonstration Programs (1982) / Chapter Skim
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The Evaluation Report: A Weak Link to Policy
The Evaluation Report: A Weak Link to Policy
Pages 254-271
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From page 254... ...
By doing so we may find ways to refocus them to better meet the needs of policy makers such as Califano. Here we first discuss the work of policy makers and some reasons why evaluation reports tend to be long.
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From page 255... ...
. From this it would appear that to be effective, or to be even thoughtfully considered, evaluation reports written for policy makers must make some carefully thought-out concessions to such a frenzy of executive activity.
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From page 256... ...
For example, the details needed to answer a single policy question may be scattered across several chapters -- some in the chapter describing the subjects, some in the discussion of child measure outcomes, some in the discussion of parent measure outcomes, some in the discussion of staff interview outcomes, and some in the chapter presenting overall findings. The burden falls on the policy maker to locate the fragments and piece them together to answer complex questions.
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From page 257... ...
This paper does not attempt to assess the actual policy impacts that these reports have already had, nor does it lay out a sequence of events to increase policy impact. Past experience suggests that policy reports, no matter how well written, will not have much influence without deliberately organized support of one kind or another.
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From page 258... ...
The report does not stress future policy actions, but its discussions of problems often include descriptions of corrective actions initiated by BEH or references to the need for additional money or work. Although BEH wrote the report mainly for Congress, the authors explicitly kept in mind many others who might use the findings, such as federal administrators in HEW, the Office of Education, and BEH; state directors of special education and state evaluators; leaders of professional
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From page 259... ...
Policy Questions Six policy questions are addresssed in the report: · Are the intended beneficiaries being served? · In what settings are the beneficaries being served?
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From page 260... ...
The BEH report avoids this problem. Format The BEH report addresses six policy questions; the questions are used as chapter headings to organize the entire report.
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From page 261... ...
Much of the language derives from the act itself and from related legislative processes; some originates in the discipline of special education; the rest originates in the federal and state processes for implementing the act. Most of this jargon, unlike evaluation jargon, is likely to be familiar to the policy makers who will read the report or its summary.
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From page 262... ...
The NDCS combined some of the concerns of ACYF and the needs of the Federal Interagency Day Care Requirements into one study by examining the effective ness of varying center day care arrangements while taking into consideration such demographic variables as regions, states, socioeconomic groups, etc. At least with respect to center care, it was thought that the results of such a
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From page 263... ...
Given the variety of issues regarding day care, federal involvement, and regulation, an attempt to deal with more than three major policy questions would have merely diluted the report's policy effectiveness. The policy issues are clearly identified and, notably, so are issues that are not a focus of the study.
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From page 264... ...
. ~ a, __ -a= -~ -me ~ we ~1 ~ n fine Given the policy questions involved, it was important to employ measures of classroom composition and staff qualifications that were reliable and valid.
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From page 265... ...
Format The authors present the policy-relevant findings at the beginning of the volume, allowing the reader to become aware of the major findings immediately. Policy recommendations, which stem directly from the findings, are concretely stated and provide a contextual framework that encourages the policy maker to consider actual policy decisions.
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From page 266... ...
Policy Questions The major issue in this report is the denial of a basic education to any child by schools, by either overt or covert practices and procedures. While the policy questions are not explicit in the report, one can identify at least one major policy question and three subsidiary ones: · How do exclusionary practices (overt and covert)
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From page 267... ...
Methodology This report uses both 1970 census data on school nonenrollment and survey data obtained via a questionnaire developed by the Children's Defense Fund. The survey instrument was used to augment the census data as well as to address issues of special policy concern to the researchers.
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From page 268... ...
When appropriate cost data are presented in a policy report, its possible influence is greatly increased. The cost data can be obtained in different ways: In the National Day Care Study, cost data were collected concurrently with the process and outcome data; in the BEH report to Congress, cost data were estimated from several outside sources.
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From page 269... ...
Quite likely the omission is insignificant, considering the purposes of the three reports, since few policy makers possess the training to interpret technical methods. Moreover, the reports provide adequate references to other sources (often appendixes or other volumes accompanying the report)
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From page 270... ...
For the most part, statistical presentations in the four reports included only counts, percentages, ranks, averages, ranges, costs, and bivariate tables or graphs. If complex statistical findings cannot be reduced to these simpler forms, they probably will have little meaning to policy makers.
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From page 271... ...
Children Out of School in America. Washington, D.C.: Children's Defense Fund.
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