Since 2007, two taxonomies have been proposed to identify the components of evaluation practice that may be specified in an evaluation policy. Little is known, however, about how these taxonomies align with evaluation policies developed by philanthropic foundations. Through thematic analysis, this article first compares 12 foundation evaluation…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents a three part series on fixing assessments. Assessment means different things, but it almost always includes accreditation reporting. In Part 1: David Eubanks describes what went wrong with the accreditation standards on learning assessment and the compliance culture that they created. This…

In this chapter, we address accessibility of assessment. We focus on the process of assessment and offer guidelines for practitioners to consider as they design and implement assessments, analyze data, and use assessment data to make decisions. We explore these considerations through examples from recent multi-institutional studies.

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents a three part series on fixing assessments. In Part 1, David Eubanks advocates for a collaborative model of assessment as the field enters a fourth decade of low return on investment. In Part 2, Megan R. Good laments the opportunity cost of continuing the define-measure-improve assessment model…

Advocacy outcomes are not self-evident. Identifying advocacy outcomes is extremely difficult because they are often intangible, arising from (personal) interactions, and they are not always traceable. This challenges conventional evaluation methods, which is recognized in the advocacy evaluation literature. However, current evaluation methods…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents a three part series on fixing assessments. In Part 1: "Assessment Standards are Broken," David Eubanks highlights the challenges with the assessment standards articulated by institutional accreditors. In this article, Part 2: Megan R. Good, discusses the opportunity costs faced and…

Formative assessment is a crucial aspect of teaching and learning in the classroom, but there is evidence that there has been a lack of effective implementation of formative assessment in practice. In response, this article outlines the design and development of a formative assessment framework that can be implemented as a consistent whole-school…

By using Shlomo Vinner's credit system concept, we show that summative assessment is a rather vague and underrepresented notion in mathematics education literature. The emotional drive behind this article is expressed in the following questions: How is it possible to look for concrete exclusionary school practices that qualify some and disqualify…

The U.S. Department of Education (Education) plays a key role in supporting educational opportunities for K-12 students, including awarding grants and overseeing compliance with federal education laws. Over the past decade, Education's grant awards have generally increased in number and size. Using Education budget data, it was determined that in…

We argue that student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are a key tactic for justifying and maintaining white male dominance in US higher education. As such, tenure and promotion processes that rely on SETs as a measure of 'teaching quality' reproduce racial and gender inequality. We situate the contemporary use of SETs amidst a long history of…

Teacher evaluations can be used by states and districts to support and develop an exceptional workforce. Accurate evaluations based on quality data can help differentiate teacher performance, inform feedback, improve professional development, provide opportunities for pay increases and advancement, and provide rationale for teacher dismissals. Yet…

As evaluators, we are often asked to determine whether policies and programs provide value for the resources invested. Addressing that question can be a quandary, and, in some cases, evaluators question whether cost-benefit analysis is fit for this purpose. With increased interest globally in social enterprise, impact investing, and social impact…

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…

Selection bias pervades the evaluation of supplemental instruction (SI) in non-experimental settings. This brief note provides a formal framework to understand this issue. The objective is to contribute to the accumulation of credible evidence on the impact of SI.

Practitioners are being placed under increasing pressure to evaluate the success of their outreach activities, both by government and by their own universities. Based in a reductionist doctrine of "evidence-based practice", there is a desire to demonstrate the effectiveness and value-for-money across activities that now account for…