Evaluation Training Program (ETP)

The current demand for evaluation of mathematics and science education reform programs far exceeds this nation's capacity to supply evaluators. There is a paucity of evaluators who have appropriate subject-matter preparation, evaluation and social science research knowledge and skills, and concrete experience. The intent of the Evaluation Training Program (ETP) was to encourage, through student fellowships at the doctoral level, the preparation of evaluators for mathematics and science education programs.

To this end, in October 1996 the AERA Grants Program, with support from the National Science Foundation, sponsored a competition for institutions to build and/or augment their existing evaluation programs to provide training in evaluation of mathematics and science education programs. The following four institutions were awarded ETP funding to support doctoral students with strong mathematics or science backgrounds who are interested in pursuing careers in evaluation:

Lesley College
UC Berkeley
University of Minnesota
Utah State University

At this time the ETP institutions have awarded all their AERA/NSF ETP fellowships. However, students are encouraged to apply to any of the four ETP institutions for exemplary doctoral training in evaluation. Although the ETP programs were different at the four institutions, each integrates coursework in evaluation theory and practice, social science research methods, and project-based field training in its program.

An evaluation of the ETP was conducted in 2001 by Jennifer Greene of the Univerity of Illinois. Click here for a pdf version of the evaluation report. Final reports are also available for the following ETP institutions:

• Lesley College
• UC Berkeley
• University of Minnesota
• Utah State University

Please contact the ETP Principal Investigators listed below for further information on their institutions' programs:

Professor Frank Davis
Lesley College
29 Everett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617-349-8456
fdavis@mail.lesley.edu.

Professor Mark Wilson
Graduate School of Education
4415 Tolman Hall
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670
Phone: 510-642-7966
mrwilson@socrates.berkeley.edu.

Professor Frances Lawrenz
415 Johnston Hall
Office of the Vice President for Research
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: 612-625-7840
lawrenz@maroon.tc.umn.edu.

Professor Blaine Worthen
Research and Evaluation Methodology Program
Utah State University
Logan, UT 84322-2810
Phone: 801-797-1447
blaine@fs1.ed.usu.edu.