Efforts to promote professionalism in evaluation, whether through certification, credentialing, or other path, are not new, but there is a new push to adopt sets of essential evaluator competencies, both in the United States and globally, that are intended to advance professionalism of the field. This emphasis on professionalism is relevant to the…

Written as four scenes that span a five-year period, this article examines the summative evaluation of an organized school reform programme in the United States from the teacher perspective. The study provides fine-grained details of how the evaluation of the particular reform effort went "awry" in the view of some teachers who directly…

Background: Those involved in school health education programs generally believe that health-education programs can play an important role in helping young people make positive health decisions. Thus, it is to document the effects of such programs through rigorous evaluations published in peer-reviewed journals. Methods: This paper helps the…

This study discusses three evaluations completed in a large suburban school district, each of which involved stakeholders purposefully throughout the inquiry process. The reflective case narrative addresses three questions: (1) To what extent or in which parts of the evaluations were stakeholders involved? (2) What actions did the evaluator(s)…

Today's public policy discussions increasingly focus on how "networks" of public and private actors collaborate across organizational, sectoral, and geographical boundaries to solve increasingly complex problems. Yet, many of evaluation's key concepts, including the evaluator's role, assume an evaluand that is programmatically or organizationally…

In the summer of 2011, the Tennessee Department of Education contracted with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) to provide a four-day training for all evaluators across the state. NIET trained more than 5,000 evaluators intensively in the state model (districts using alternative instruments delivered their own training).…

The role and methods of an evaluator of program effectiveness are discussed. Responses to questions prepared by academicians were obtained from three evaluation practitioners; an external, independent evaluator; and an internal evaluator with program implementation responsibilities. Practitioners uniformly indicated that internal evaluators were…

Different dimensions of evaluation utilization and evaluator strategies for stimulating use are discussed, in terms of designing a formal evaluation utilization system. While the need exists to improve the design process, there is no simple formula. Evaluators should see part of their function as creating a repository of knowledge. (SLD)

Investigates how six novice and six expert evaluators observed a teaching performance and subsequently interpreted their observations. Expert evaluators approached evaluation as a shared process of construction, analysis, and interpretation of classroom events. Experts looked for structures but were neither as prescriptive nor as judgmental as…

The article and commentary in this special section consider the ethical implications of a remark by an employee in a business being evaluated that employees have been advised to make the program look good. Explores the implications for the evaluation and its usefulness. (SLD)

Strategies for use by clients who commission evaluation studies in the private, university, or governmental sector are outlined. Topics covered include establishing the purpose of the evaluation, assembling in-house management staff, specifying work and expertise requirements, establishing confidentiality and project control, and managing results.…

The events leading up to a controversial external evaluation in a small school district in Chicago are described from the client's viewpoint. Focus is on the community unrest and tension that shaped the evaluation contract. (TJH)

A broad set of ethical principles is examined to determine their relevance for evaluation. The five principles of K. S. Kitchener (autonomy, nonmaleficience, beneficence, justice, and fidelity) are relevant to evaluation and are fully represented in the evaluation standards of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. (SLD)

Based on experiences in conducting program evaluations for the Canadian Federal Government, an evaluator addresses reconciliation of the information needs of managers and accountability. External and internal accountability are covered. Using the perspectives of both line managers and senior managers, means of resolving pertinent issues are…

Evaluation utilization problems encountered and remedial strategies are discussed by a director of several government evaluation studies and evaluation manager. Political and behavioral prerequisites to evaluation utilization as well as on-going organizational requirements are emphasized. (TJH)