Drawing on a qualitative study of an educational reform and its external evaluation, I describe how a well-intentioned but poorly conceptualized evaluation helped perpetuate asymmetries in the generation and use of evaluation findings. This article explores this project's failure to clarify evaluator roles, identify intended users and expected…

Nonprofit organizations are under great pressure to use evaluations to show that their programs "work" and that they are "effective." However, empirical evidence indicates that nonprofits struggle to perform useful evaluations, especially when conducted under accountability pressures. An increasing body of evidence highlights…

This paper presents a framework for program assessment and a case study in assessment for a university clothing and textile program in family and consumer sciences. Assessment activities and the process implemented by the Textile and Apparel Studies (TAS) major at Western Michigan University are explained. The process adopts the International…

From a utilization-focused evaluation perspective, the success of an evaluation is rooted in the extent to which the evaluation was used by stakeholders. This paper details the "Expectations to Change" (E2C) process, an interactive, workshop-based method designed to engage primary users with their evaluation findings as a means of…

There is a growing call for evaluation capacity building (ECB); although the area currently lacks a rich research base, there are few robust methods and practice through which to define it. The argument in this article is that the impact of evaluation is mediated by program stakeholders' engagement in evaluation activities. This mediation provides…

Understanding the influence of multisite evaluation requires careful consideration of cultural context. The author illustrates dimensions of influence and culture with excerpts from four National Science Foundation evaluation case studies and summarizes what influence teaches everyone about culture and what culture teaches everyone about…

A cross-case analysis of four National Science Foundation (NSF) case studies identified both unique details and common themes related to promoting the use and influence of multisite evaluations. The analysis provided evidence of diverse evaluation use by stakeholders and suggested that people taking part in the multisite evaluations perceived…

Performance pressure at both the institutional and individual level of secondary education has been identified as a pressure that is acknowledged all over Europe and raises questions about the extent to which agents in lower and upper secondary education interpret assessment in terms of either control or learning, or perhaps both. Drawing on…

This article explores the relationship between the lack of visible attention to formative assessment in degree specifications and its marginalization in practice. Degree specification documents form part of the quality apparatus emphasizing the accountability and certification duties of assessment. Ironically, a framework designed to assure…

Environmental interpretation is a key tool for integrated management of tourism, with potential for greater use in managing visitor numbers, behavior and impacts, and enhancing experience. Evaluation is necessary to determine whether interpretation is achieving its goals. It is vital for park managers to know if their management is effective in…

Recent work has shown that many state supported school counseling programs have not developed working statewide program evaluation schemas. This study examined two exemplary examples of state level program evaluation. Mixed-method case studies were created and then analyzed across cases to reveal common themes and best practices. The findings…

This practical guide to outcomes-based assessment in student affairs is designed to help readers meet the growing demand for accountability and for demonstrating student learning. The authors offer a framework for implementing the assessment of student learning and development and pragmatic advice on the strategies most appropriate for the…

"Evaluation Theory, Models, and Applications" is designed for evaluators and students who need to develop a commanding knowledge of the evaluation field: its history, theory and standards, models and approaches, procedures, and inclusion of personnel as well as program evaluation. This important book shows how to choose from a growing…

Explored evaluator roles and strategies that have the potential to increase the likelihood that the evaluation process will have an influence on an organization and its members. Conducted a brief case study of an evaluation work group to illustrate evaluator roles in task-focused and task-related discussions. (SLD)

The research reported in this paper is focused directly on assessing the validity of the "Teaching Knowledge about Reading and Reading Practices" (TKRRP) assessment. Following the recommendations of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (APA/AERA, 1999), the authors see validation as a process of constructing an…