Compares the responses of administrators, teachers, parents, and students to a questionnaire about purposes, communication qualities, effects, and philosophy of student evaluations. Suggests evaluations can serve as positive educational motivators that reward student efforts and enhance student learning, while avoiding critical, negative,…

Evaluators usually assume that the data they receive are valid, or at least, that the data reflect that which is being evaluated. In a recent evaluation in a large southern school district, evaluators compared their raw interview notes with interview notes edited by the teachers interviewed or project staff. The program evaluated was Project SEED,…

This paper documents the evaluation use process among districts using the Guide for Evaluation Decision Makers, published by the Center for the Study of Evaluation (CSE) during the 1984-85 school year. Included are the following: (1) a discussion of research that led to conclusions concerning the administrator's role in evaluation use; (2) a…

What users of student ratings of instruction know about ratings and what they need to know to make valid and reliable use of ratings data were studied. An item bank of 153 multiple-choice items was developed from sources of information about student ratings. The full item bank had five subsets: (1) knowledge of ratings concepts; (2) knowledge of…