A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

The National Evaluation of the Eisenhower Program

The evaluation is based on three strands of data collection.

• The National Profile. This strand provides information about program goals, strategies, operations, and activities nationwide. During the 1997-98 school year, AIR conducted telephone interviews with a national probability sample of Eisenhower coordinators in 363 school districts and SAHE-grantee project directors in 92 institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (IHE/NPOs). We also collected data from a mail survey of a national probability sample of 1,027 teachers who participated in 657 Eisenhower-assisted activities.^[15] We use these Teacher Activity Survey data to describe the types of professional development supported with Eisenhower funds and to compare activities sponsored by school districts to those sponsored by SAHE grantees.
• The Case Studies. This strand provides detailed information about how the Eisenhower program operates in selected states, school districts, and schools. During the 1997-98 school year, AIR conducted In-Depth Case Studies in 10 school districts—two school districts in each of five states: Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Washington. Those case studies supplement six Exploratory Case districts visited during the first year of the evaluation.
• The Longitudinal Study of Teacher Change. This strand examines the effects of Eisenhower-assisted and other professional development on teaching practice in mathematics and science. In each of the 10 districts visited for the in-depth case studies, we interviewed and conducted classroom observations of teachers in three schools, for a total of 30 schools. We also surveyed all teachers who teach mathematics or science in those schools at three points in time, gathering detailed information about instruction during the 1996-97, 97-98, and 98-99 school years.

These multiple strands of data are designed to produce an integrated portrait of the Eisenhower program and are based on a variety of research methods and relying on data from groups of individuals who view Eisenhower-assisted activities from different vantage points. Data from our telephone interviews with district program coordinators and SAHE-grantee project directors, for example, are backed up by teacher-participant accounts of what they experienced and its quality. In addition, the survey results are cross-validated through case study data that are rich in potential to explain the quantitative results from the surveys. Finally, although our national data on the effects of participation in Eisenhower-assisted activities on change in teaching practice are based on teacher self-reports and do not provide direct estimates of change over time, data from the second and third waves of the longitudinal study, to be examined in the evaluation?s third report, will provide additional information on teacher change.^[16]

[The Eisenhower Program]

[Effectiveness of Eisenhower-assisted Professional Development Activities]