After months of waiting, the grant reviews came back: "excellent," "excellent," and "fair." What?! How can this be? Why is the third review so out of line with the first two? On more than one occasion a principal investigator (PI) has been frustrated not only by a negative funding decision but more so by the accompanying reviewer evaluation forms…

This paper reviews what has been learned about evaluation ultilization during the past 20 years. Evaluation utilization is discussed in terms of what is used, who uses evaluation, when evaluation is used, how evaluation is used, where evaluation is used, and why evaluation is used. It is suggested that the personal factor - the interests and…

Brief case studies of three projects are presented to illustrate the steps which open "Wonderful Programs" to evaluation research. The evaluator is provided with the perspective needed to believe the evaluation is worth doing. The project staff is then redirected to the need for a new type of evidence. An ongoing review of the commitment…

A "formal information inventory" survey method was used to help educate a university campus about outcomes assessment while identifying assessment activities already being undertaken. The survey was sent to 102 individuals identified as being responsible for, or having knowledge of, any assessment activities within a department or area,…

Since the last comprehensive museum survey was conducted in 1971-72, no current data has been gathered about the museum field. Because the field has not remained static it has become difficult to apply the 1971-72 survey findings to current museum situations. Because of this, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) was requested to…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the reasons for resistance to evaluation and the factors that affect adoption of new procedures, while focusing on a model for guiding the planning of evaluation implementation strategies. The process of adoption of an innovation occurs in three stages: orientation, where the user identifies benefits;…

A study was conducted to examine the needs of military training developers for feedback from the field on the quality of their products and ways that these needs can best be served. Thirty division and branch chiefs from the Directorate of Training Developments (DTD) at a large center/school were interviewed concerning their feedback needs, using…

A study of microcomputer courseware reviews was carried out in order to discover which criteria they discuss, whether reviewers agree in their assessments, how evaluative the reviews are, and whether the reviewing policy of the journal influences the review. The content analysis instrument was a composite of criteria developed by organizations…

The future of instructional evaluation will probably involve responding to changes in the goals of both teaching and evaluating teachers. The inadequacies of student achievement tests as measures of educational effectiveness will lead to a shift of interest away from tests and toward the abilities of students to solve problems, use learning…

The paper reviews cost-effectiveness evaluations of child maltreatment interventions. Though methodologically sound research is limited, existing research suggests that home health visitors, lay group counseling, and family and group therapy are promising interventions. Medical foster care substantially reduces costs, but its effectiveness has not…

Principles that institutional researchers should follow are discussed. The most important dictate is to present decision-makers the bare minimum of information necessary for the task; the material should be simple, short, and succinct. A report to assist decision-makers should not include extensive supporting documentation. The first step is to…

This paper reports on a study designed to assess the impact of problems in the system for the evaluation of student performance on student disengagement from high school. The study is guided by the theory of evaluation and authority developed by Dornbusch and Scott. Surveys administered to a 5 percent sample of students (N=293) in four suburban…

Describes some of the realities associated with engineering careers. Emphasizes the importance of giving students a broader understanding of life as an engineer. Indicates that groups should support research programs to investigate more effective use of trained persons who have been discarded in midcareer. (RT)

This book presents seven essays on evaluation in higher education. In "Threats and Opportunities of Evaluation in Higher Education" Roeland in't Veld sets the policy frameworks for increased emphasis on evaluation. In "Institutional Evaluation: The Role of the Main Actors in Higher Education" Andre Staropoli describes the roles of the forces which…

Although marriage enrichment programs have been shown to be effective for many couples, a multidimensional approach to assessment is needed in investigating these groups. The components of information and social support in successful marriage enrichment programs were compared in a completely crossed 2 x 2 factorial design with repeated measures.…