The authors present a case study examining the potential for policies to be "evidence-based." To what extent is it possible to say that a decision to implement a complex social intervention is warranted on the basis of available empirical data? The case chosen is whether there is sufficient evidence to justify banning smoking in cars carrying…

In a reflective commentary, the authors address the implications of the fact that, in action settings, implementation and evaluation are often carried on by the same person, and they raise the question, "Should evaluation become implementation?" (PN)

Stakeholder-based studies modify the relationship between evaluator and user, producing conflict that can cause evaluators to regress to familiar, traditional patterns that leave interactive evaluation strategies only partially implemented. (Author/PN)

Several issues have arisen from evaluations of inservice education programs in British Columbia: why evaluate and whom to survey; how can much emerge from evaluations that do not meet even the simplest cannons for effective evaluation; and how will evaluation results be used. Evaluators now need to improve their craft. (DC)

In view of social processes, politics and the logistics of conducting evaluations, several implicit assumptions of the field challenged by findings on innovation implementation are reviewed. These studies have major implications for evaluation practice, evaluator roles, the use of evaluation results, and the federal role in evaluation. (Author/CM)

Discusses strategies designed to increase the instrumental use of program evaluation findings based on experiences in Australian schools. Highlights include an evaluation plan; awareness of the evaluation; timely reporting techniques; guidelines for implementation of findings; and the role of the evaluator as change agent. (Contains 21…

A utilization-focused approach in evaluating a problem-solving skills training program (see TM 510 179) would have placed more emphasis on identifying evaluation users, their information needs, and likely use of findings. Other methods options are also discussed, along with how to prepare decision makers for utilization. (Author/BW)

The evaluation process provides valuable information so that practitioners may share and benchmark their efforts to improve and enhance the quality of the educational reform initiative called tech prep. Evaluation should be part of every phase of a tech prep initiative, from needs assessment to completion. A tech prep program is typically at one…

Two separate sets of minimum standards designed to guide the evaluation of bilingual projects are proposed. The first set relates to the process in which the evaluation activities are conducted. They include: validity of assessment procedures, validity and reliability of evaluation instruments, representativeness of findings, use of procedures for…