The first article in this series traces the initial development of the concept of evaluation use. As a field, evaluation has always paid attention to the potential for use, both in decision-making and in changing people's thinking. The broad history of the field as we know it today stemmed from two streams: one focused on tests and measurement,…

The assessment movement that has emerged on American college campuses over the last twenty years emphasizes the need to carefully articulate the particular outcomes colleges seek for students, and it demands that faculty and administrators provide evidence of their students' success with respect to these outcomes. It also requires that this…

The question of how well students are doing is central to the enterprise of higher education. Students want to know what grade was received on the paper or test. Faculty want to know what it will take to reach tenure or be reappointed. Admissions staff want to know how many students need to be enrolled in order to provide tuition revenue required…

The evaluation theory tree typology reflects the following three components of evaluation practice: (a) methods, (b) use, and (c) valuing. The purpose of this study was to explore how evaluation practice is conceived as reflected in articles published in the "American Journal of Evaluation" ("AJE") and "Evaluation," a…

In the original paper, it was argued that while there is an array of methods and methodologies available, their use is delimited by the culture of accountability that prevails in public sector institutions, a fact that is particularly problematic given the complexity and diversity of evaluation contexts today. This short rejoinder, to responses…

In music education, current attention to student-centered approaches for learning affects our understanding of student assessment. This view to curriculum reform requires new perspectives for assessment. There is a need to move beyond the summative use of assessment to assign grades to examining the roles of assessment in supporting and enhancing…

Assessment is a complex function requiring an understanding of student learning, assessment principles, practices, and purposes of data to implement effective classroom assessment. The purpose of this study was to add to the growing base of knowledge about teachers' engagement with assessment data and their motivation for classroom assessment.…

The United States education system depends on legislation and funding at the federal, state and local levels. Public understanding of assessment therefore is important to educational reform in the USA. Educational reformers often invoke assessment information as a reason for reform, typically by citing unacceptable achievement on some measure or…

This article chronicles the evolution of a large research extensive institution's General Education writing assessment efforts from an initial summative focus to a formative, improvement focus. The methods of assessment, which changed as the assessment purpose evolved, are described. As more data were collected, the measurement tool was…

This article summarizes critical evaluation needs, challenges, and lessons learned in translational research. Evaluation can play a key role in enhancing successful application of research-based programs and tools as well as informing program refinement and future research. Discussion centers on what is unique about evaluating programs and…

Evaluations of special education interventions are different from research on medical interventions. Educational evaluations would be more useful if they applied an actuarial, or probability approach. Information should be collected over time and using various measures, thus increasing the available data. (GDC)

Using 45 undergraduate evaluations of videotaped lectures, this study examined the effects of the purposes of rating on measures of accuracy in observing teacher behavior and in evaluating teacher performance. Results suggest that the purpose affects the way raters process behavioral information without necessarily affecting the general level of…

Discusses a program implemented in Wichita, Kansas, public schools to assess curricular effectiveness in music education. Expounds on the goals of the program, participants involved, problems encountered, and the eventual outcome of the evaluation. Maintains that curriculum must be organized around specific musical objectives rather than musical…