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

Acknowledgments

The following report was prepared by Decision Information Resources, Inc. under contract to the U.S. Department of Education, Planning and Evaluation Service (Contract No. ED98CO0028). This evaluation would not have been possible without the ongoing cooperation of the Regional Educational Laboratories. We appreciate the time and effort put forth by each Lab to prepare for the evaluation site visit. Special thanks go to the many Lab staff, board members, partners, and customers of the Labs who met with the peer reviewers during their visits.

We would also like to thank our 34 peer reviewers who agreed to take on the daunting task of absorbing an enormous amount of material in a very short period of time and conducting an objective review based on the data provided. We applaud their efforts and commend them for their dedication to the task.

We would also like to acknowledge ED staff who played a key role in the design and implementation of the Interim Evaluation. First, we would like to thank Sandra Furey, our project officer in PES, for her support and guidance throughout this process. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution of staff in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, particularly Carol Chelemer and the 10 Lab program officers, whose knowledge of the Lab program was invaluable.

Finally, we would like to thank the project’s nine-member Technical Work Group who provided direction and guidance in developing the evaluation framework and refining the study design.

The Interim Evaluation was truly a team effort. The listed authors of this report represent only part of the DIR staff who were involved in this project. Other members of the team include Karen Beal, Nancy Dawson, Zeeba Khan, Robert Landry, Carla Prince, and Pamela Wells.

Title Page

Volume I: Executive Summary