Collaborative Evaluation systematically invites and engages stakeholders in program evaluation planning and implementation. Unlike "distanced" evaluation approaches, which reject stakeholder participation as evaluation team members, Collaborative Evaluation assumes that active, on-going engagement between evaluators and program staff,…

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…

Scriven advocates a philosophical shift from the pseudoscientific doctrine of the traditional social sciences. He substitutes a key evaluation checklist--encompassing needs assessment, comparative value, and assessment of overall value; and suggests that evaluators use this checklist. Theoretically, the grounding of evaluation in judging and…

Selected aspects of the problem of obtaining unbiased program or product evaluation are discussed. An evaluator who is a member of the project staff will have difficulty producing an evaluation which is credible and valid. Project monitors will also have a problem since they are often required to assume the conflicting roles of external evaluator…

Using architectural design as a model, the article discusses the process of evaluation design. Like the architect, the evaluator faces a problem of finding forms that best fit a partially defined set of contextual demands. The context is the set of all factors which made demands upon the final design form. Like the architect, the evaluator's…

This speech concerns the dimensions of context-oriented evaluation and begins with a discussion of the differences between measurement, research, statistical methodology, and evaluation. Decision-oriented evaluation is described as a process in which the evaluator has, as a major concern, the responsibility to determine likely decisions prior to…

Theorizing about evaluation should be conceptualized as a human activity governed by certain strategies and principles. The theories advanced by various evaluators have changed over the years, thus illustrating ten principles of evaluation. The starting point for theory development or modification is self-reflection and review of one's own…

Beginning in 1970, the Cincinnati Public Schools experienced a shift in emphasis from centralized evaluation to local school program development and evaluation. Three functional models currently operate to evaluate three programs: Title I, alternative integration, and disadvantaged students. Each is distinguished by the level of trust existing…

The evaluation team of the Lincoln Public Schools (Nebraska) used the multi-attribution utility technology (MAUT) approach to prioritize potential evaluation projects. The priorities were used to allocate resources to the district's most important projects, and to eliminate or scale down less important projects. The problem was caused initially…

This document is one of a series of reports which describe the experiences of six state agencies that are developing systems to affect the development and implementation of policy in the federal/state program for vocational rehabilitation. The state programs are developing model program evaluation/management information support units. This second…

Evaluation procedures and programs in the Cincinnati, Ohio school system, the role of local school evaluators, and the models for school evaluation--based on high, moderate, or low trust--are described. Evaluators serve local schools in formative and summative evaluation projects, in assessing needs, and in meeting them. (MH)

Amid the growing concern with accountability of mental health service agencies, increased emphasis is being focused on program self-evaluation. Evaluation criteria involve systems management, client utilization, and outcome of intervention. In designing training for self-evaluation, one must deal with issues raised by the new audience of potential…

Oregon has recognized the problems involved in the evaluation of Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I programs, and has worked toward solutions, while recognizing the differing needs of local, state, and federal departments of education. In order to provide help to the local school districts with respect to evaluation, a statewide committee…

Evaluation is an act of persuasion directed to a specific audience concerning the solution of a problem. The process of evaluation is prescribed by the nature of knowledge--which is generally complex, always uncertain (in varying degrees), and not always propositional--and by the nature of logic, which is always selective. In the process of…

Designed for use by institutions at the postsecondary level, this program evaluation package contains instructions for planning and implementing an evaluation program, instruments for obtaining information from key sources, and procedures for their use. Covered in the individual chapters are the following topics: an overview of evaluation…