Knowledge utilization is a field crossing many sectors, from agriculture, since the 1920s, to health care today. Evaluators have made long-standing contributions to understanding knowledge utilization. Different models or ways to think about knowledge utilization have evolved to reflect different perspectives, contexts, and stages of the process,…

The authors tell about their heterogeneous 91 person research and evaluation unit at an operating foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota. They focus on evaluation for program improvement, one of several purposes of studies they work on. The three authors write from their different manager positions within the unit. Included are the context of the…

A district evaluator in a large Texas district examines new challenges arising since implementation of No Child Left Behind, relating to (1) navigating competing requirements in state and federal accountability systems; (2) evaluating effectiveness of sanctions districts are required to address; (3) using scientifically based research (SBR) to…

The impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is usually understood in relation to schools and districts, but the legislation has also affected community-based organizations that operate school-linked programs. This case study of an after-school program in California demonstrates how educational accountability systems that emphasize students' academic…

This chapter presents the findings from a review of the practice of evaluation in federal agencies as an attempt to inform policies on method choice. The author explores whether federal agencies differ in their approaches to evaluation design and the factors that influence these differences. The nature of the programs, agency culture, evaluator…

This article uses a program-level evaluation to assess the characteristics of smaller-scale project evaluations and their use for project improvement and accountability purposes. The authors used available information from the annual Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program evaluation surveys to describe the characteristics of evaluation…

Typically, program evaluation agencies in the legislative branch of state government examine programs that have already been implemented. These evaluations often consider whether a program achieved the legislature's original goals or complied with statutory requirements. Program evaluations frequently determine whether executive branch agencies…

This article reviews the evolution of American Evaluation Association's (AEA) Independent Consulting Topical Interest Group (IC TIG). The TIG goes back a joint meeting held in San Francisco in 1984 of the Evaluation Network (ENet) and the Evaluation Research Society (ERS), two years before the organizations merged to become the AEA. On the fringes…

Although a necessary component of good program management and accountability, monitoring data do not usually provide answers to questions about whether, how, and why a specific program works. More in-depth, systematic inquiry is needed to do this. In this article, the authors focus on the evaluation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-prevention…

In times of budget shortfalls and ever increasing demand for transparency and accountability for use of tax dollars in the public sector, it is clear that the use and influence of performance measurement has increased. "Performance measurement" is a "fairly inclusive term that may refer to the routine measurement of program inputs,…

Program evaluation has long been used to reveal program characteristics, merits, and challenges. While providing information about program effectiveness, evaluations can also ensure understanding of program outcomes, efficiency, and quality. Furthermore, evaluations can analyze and examine a program's political and social environment as well as…

There is concern that the nation's schools are not preparing students to excel in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. At both precollege and postsecondary levels, much effort is needed to create and implement powerful STEM curricula, prepare and support highly qualified teachers, deliver effective instruction, and give…