program evaluation

The statutes (s.118.43(7)) require the department to arrange for the evaluation of the SAGE program.

The department initially contracted with the Center for Urban Initiatives and Research (CUIR) of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for the required SAGE program evaluation. In July 1998 the contract was transferred to the School of Education at UWM.

1. Evaluation Requirements - The department will ask that achievement guarantee contracts include assurance that each participating school will provide evaluators with access to staff and students; that school and district staff members will collect, maintain, and report data necessary for the evaluation; and that the school will share information about its programs and achievements with other schools, researchers, and members of the public.

2. Test Administration - Participating schools may be asked to implement a uniform assessment as part of the required SAGE program evaluation.

3. Comparison Groups - For purposes of the evaluation, the UWM design team has identified a number of non-SAGE schools similar to the schools for which achievement guarantee contracts have been developed. The board of a district with a school participating in the SAGE program containing a school or schools identified as possible comparison sites will be asked, as a condition of the contract, to allow the evaluators access to such schools for the purpose of gathering program and achievement information for comparison purposes.