Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 92 Part 2.djvu/909

 PUBLIC LAW 95-561—NOV. 1, 1978

92 STAT. 2189

u PROGRAM EVALUATION " SEC. 183. (a) INDEPENDENT EVALUATIONS.—The Commissioner shall

20 USC 2833.

provide for independent evaluations which describe and measure the impact of programs and projects assisted under this title. Such evaluations may be provided by contract or other arrangements, and all such evaluations shall be made by competent and independent persons, and shall include, whenever possible, opinions obtained from program or project participants about the strengths and weaknesses of such programs and projects. "(b)

EVALUATION STANDARDS AND S C H E D U L E. — The Commissioner

Standards, publication.

shall (1) develop and publish standards foi- evaluation of program or project effectiveness in achieving the objectives of this title, and (2) develop, in consultation with State educational agencies and representatives of local educational agencies, a schedule for conducting evaluations under section 124(g) designed to ensure that evaluations are conducted in representative samples of the local educational agencies in any State each year. Such standards will be developed only Consultation and after widespread consultation and hearings with practicing StaAe and hearings. local agency evaluators, and the Commissioner's standards will reflect the input of these groups. " (c) JOINT L Y SPONSORED STUDIES.—The Commissioner shall consult

with State and local educational agencies in order to provide for jointly sponsored objective evaluation studies of programs and projects assisted under this title within a State. " (d) EVALUATION MODELS.—The Commissioner

shall

provide

to

State educational agencies, models for evaluations of all programs conducted under this title, for their use in carrying out their functions under section 172, which shall include uniform procedures and criteria to be utilized by local educational agencies and State agencies as well as by the State educational agency in the evaluation of such programs. I n developing evaluation design models the Commissioner shall consult with State and local evaluators experienced in conducting such evaluations. " (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Commissioner shall provide such technical and other assistance as may be necessary to State educational agencies to enable them to assist local educational agencies and State agencies in the development and application of a systematic evaluation of programs in accordance with the models developed by the Commissioner. " (f) SPECIFICATION OF OBJECTIVE CRITERIA.—The models developed

by the Commissioner shall specify objective criteria which shall be utilized in the evaluation of all programs and shall outline techniques (such as longitudinal studies of children involved in such programs) and methodology (such as the use of tests which yield comparable results) for producing data which are comparable on a statewide and nationwide basis. " (g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Commissioner shall make a report to the respective committees of the Congress having legislative jurisdiction over programs authorized by this title and the respective Committees on Appropriations no later than February 1, 1980, 1982, and 1984 concerning the results of evaluations of programs and projects required under this section, which shall be comprehensive and detailed, as up-to-date as possible, and based to the maximum extent possible on objective measurements, together with other related find-

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