Observation Systems in Program Evaluation

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the function of observation systems within the context of program evaluation and illustrates these functions by summarizing observation systems used in three program evaluations in a large public school district. Evaluations of the Primary Education, compensatory education, and Follow Through Programs incorpo rated within their design unique observation systems to assess the degree of implementa tion in accordance with each program's guidelines and to make recommendations for program modifications and inservice training. Commonalities across the observation systems include purpose, development, implementation, data analysis, and findings. Classroom observation data when combined with information gathered from interviews andl or questionnaires were invaluable in providing a multidimensional description of each program at the classroom level.