A Study of Research and Evaluation Offices and Office Functions in the Public Schools.

A survey covered categories of budget, organization, staff resources, activities, and reporting techniques and policies; the survey revealed Research and Evaluation (R and E) offices received federal or state funding. Therefore, most retain financial independence from programs evaluated. The best placement of R and E offices in the school district's organizational chart appeared to be in a direct line relationship to the superintendent. Evaluators should be independent and their office should not be in the same branch as curriculum and instruction. The staff of most R and E offices is small and composed of members having various educational backgrounds and degrees. Two thirds have a relatively high ratio of support to resource staff. Many units also have access to computer facilities. R and E activities center around testing and outcome evaluation. Maintenance of information files and preparation of statistical reports were also significant activities of the staff. The most common data collection technique employed seemed to be tests and questionnaires, supplemented by other collection methods. R and E staff are sole determiners of report content or have ultimate authority over report contents. Several suggestions are offered for increasing evaluation use. (DWH)