Why do external evaluations?

The role of the external evaluator is much like a financial auditor. The auditor makes sure the money is spent appropriately. The external evaluator checks to see if the money is spent effectively. Evaluation reports inform the team, suggests an improvement, and justifies the use of resources.

Reporting Data Journalism

The polls have taken a huge hit in the past, especially since the 2016 election that correctly predicted the popular vote for Clinton but failed to predict the electoral college victory of Trump. The tend has only been exasperated by bad methodology and push polling.

Choosing Your Variables: A Home Video Example

When setting up an analysis model, it is necessary to consider all the factors that might produce potential effects. The model building or theoretical foundation is necessary to understand statistical relationships. I have often seen researchers quickly come to a conclusion based on a couple of data points and miss that there is something else […]

Song Lyric Statistics

Lies, Dam Lies, and Statistics. We have heard it so many times – mainly from people trying to make a joke to cover their own numerical discomfort. I will admit that statistics can be used to lie. Sometimes the numbers are just completely made up. Sometimes, the numbers are intentionally misrepresented. The statistics are used […]

Corporal punishment and the disabled student

An orderly school environment is considered by many to be a necessary part of the best educational environment. Many school officials are willing to do what they can to enforce order so that education can occur. Some exasperated school officials are willing to try anything to move on to the job of educating. Sometimes the […]

Evaluating PreK Programs

There is no such thing as a perfect evaluation study. While looking for the effect of a preK program, it is useful to consider normally accepted limitations. The post looks at some of the normal issues in particular a project in Tennessee that did not support long term effects.

The Leader in Me

Until recently, I was involved in the assessment of the Leader In Me (LIM) program of the Acadiana region of Louisiana. For those of you that are not aware, The LIM is an initiative for schools to introduce positive behavior developed by Franklin Covey. It is essentially the elementary program of the seminal Seven Habits […]

Human Factors of Ebooks

The idea of distributing books in digital form is as old the computer communication itself. Even slower transmission speeds, book–length files could be distributed without unnecessary delay or cost. The goal was to free the publishing industry from paper while expanding the audience of books. While ebooks have become an important part of the publishing industry, adoption of ebooks has fallen far short of expectation amid competing formats, devices, and business models. […]

Surveys and the 2016 election

In 1986, I presented my thesis research to the Midwest Association of Public Opinion Research (MAPOR). I had done a national online survey well before the widespread use of the Internet. While I felt laughed out of the room for even attempting the method, I caught the notice of Ph.D. selection committees. It was probably […]

Independent Evaluation and Student Data

It would be nice if students could spend their time is school under the careful instruction of their teachers. There is, most certainly, an argument to be made that there are too many evaluations, changes, and reports on teacher effectiveness. That being said, there is also reason to evaluate, compare, and consider new teaching techniques. […]