Chelimsky's five-part continuum--a model for the practice of evaluation in a political context--is reviewed. The model's conceptual framework and a question for education are discussed. By focusing on interactions between evaluators and policy actors, this model should prompt debates about unsettled issues in education policy making. (SLD)

The Experience Based Career Education (EDCE) program serves as a focal point of a cast study documenting how the National Institute of Education secured Office of Education funds to demonstrate an R&D innovation. Serious questions are raised about the regulations-writing process and the use of evaluation information. (Author/LC)

The history of evaluation utilization in policy making and political features of program evaluation are discussed. A five-part continuum describes the evaluation process. Evaluation practice modifications contribute to real growth in evaluation use in congressional policy making as evaluation research improves the quality of information available…

This case history of the Colorado Study of Learning Disabilities illustrates a variety of functions an evaluation study may serve for policy shapers at the state level. The impact of the initial evaluation is followed over two years, focusing on its use by influential participants in Colorado's special education policy-shaping community. (BW)

In the volume reviewed, papers from 15 international experts address how government can use evaluation to guide (or control) education while attempting to decentralize administrative structure and pedagogical content. Thoughtful analysis is provided in highly integrated coverage of theory and practice. (SLD)

This article describes the background and rationale for the Convening Process, created and evaluated by the U.S. Department of Education staff, and its relation to other efforts to increase the use of research and evaluation information. (Author/LMO)

An approach for involving beneficiaries in specifying program attributes for evaluators to address is discussed. Methods are outlined for sharing influence among program decision makers and beneficiaries. Application of this approach in the evaluation of a problem-based medical school curriculum is described, with evidence on the enhancement of…

The effects on policy and practice of national surveys of education conducted in Scotland were evaluated. Surveys carried out as early as 1953 and 1963 have had little impact. Research must deal with contemporary issues and be relevant to local circumstances in order to influence policy. (SLD)

This paper assesses the status of evaluation as a profession and examines the consequences of not attending to the manner in which the discipline evolves. Special concerns are (1) what the profession seeks to accomplish; (2) ways in which it functions; and (3) who can be identified as "professionals." (LMO)

Evaluation research is no longer taught solely as a technical-scientific pursuit, but is now moving toward a policy-oriented discipline. Psychological skills in a political context can strengthen technical contributions of evaluators. (LMO)

The author advances the argument that evaluation is unique not in purpose, but in environment. The evaluator operates within ethical, organizational, and political contexts in order to achieve utilization of a context-responsive evaluation. (LMO)