The arguments for evaluation as a service versus evaluation as an accountability function are debated. Proponents of the evaluation as service approach often argue that information requested for self-renewal is the information most likely to be used while those who favor accountability as the appropriate role for evaluation claim that people will…

The potential application of objectives and objective-based measures to evaluation problems of different types is discussed. A framework for categorizing educational evaluation problems and decision areas is used to support the discussion. Decision areas are: 1) selection of the appropriate problem or objective to be served; 2) selection and…

A successful school program evaluation is re-examined to determine what made it successful. Suggestions for future evaluations include: (1) observe the political context of the program; (2) select a useful research design; (3) be sensitive to the subjects; and (4) discuss preliminary findings and be open to rebuttals. (JKS)

Earlier work by this author (ED 034 298) attempted to provide a framework to aid project directors in planning change under Title I of ESEA. The present study attempts to develop a classification system (Taxonomy of Administrative Information Needs) to help evaluators and administrators anticipate information needs related to the decision making…

The improvement of the validity and usefulness of evaluation research will require improving both the theory and technology of evaluation, and bettering the ways in which the federal government plans, organizes, and uses evaluation research. Three general kinds of evaluation research are currently practiced: analytic, process, and product. These…

A few major concepts about evaluation and accountability are examined briefly, and related to one another in a manner providing a simple portrayal of part of the mosaic of educational evaluation and accountability. This paper is not intended for evaluation specialists or schoolmen well versed in evaluation theory and practice, but for the…

This paper, which is part of the work of the Stanford University Environment for Teaching Program, discusses problems that are repeatedly found in the literature on formative evaluation, with emphasis on the special difficulties of conducting formative evaluation in schools. It defines the requirements of effective formative evaluation as (1) a…

Evaluation must take into account both executive and legislative politics and their interactions. A five-part continuum evaluation process is suggested for the development of a policy question and its translation into knowledge that is credible, timely, responsive, and usable. Evaluators have a major responsibility in this process. (Author/JAZ)

Establishing evaluation objectives requires formal, frequent, and extensive interaction among program evaluators and administrators to obtain from administrators the information necessary to make the most effective choices in planning and carrying out evaluations. Three techniques are described that can be used to ensure that this interaction is…

Early retirement plans (ERPs) have recently been considered and implemented at a number of universities as a means to address their need to contain costs while simultaneously generating new ideas and energy within the institution through the revitalization of faculty ranks. This endorsement of ERPs by university administrators, however, is…

The nature and role of criteria in evaluation of adult education programs are presented in this study. The first half of the paper discusses several premises: The goal of evaluation is to use program judgments in the program decision making process. Criteria are essential to judgment and determining the type of criteria that is relevant is an…

A coordinated and articulated evaluation system at all levels in occupational education is vitally important to the success of programs. (Author)

Professional development center programs present the opportunity for both practitioners and researchers to gain valuable insights into the teaching profession and the mental lives of teachers. Evaluation of these programs informs educational researchers and is responsive to the needs and expectations of funding agencies. It would be useful to…

The need for competent formal evaluation programs, particularly for new federally assisted programs, is expressed. Problems in defining educational evaluation and its requirements, in designing such evaluations, and 3 possible sources of faulty conceptual bases for evaluations, are presented. An attempt is made to define evaluation in general, to…

This investigation employed an in-basket simulation to assess the effect of provisional analysis on the use of evaluation data by program administrators in making program decisions. Sixty-five volunteers from graduate education courses and 52 volunteers from undergraduate educational psychology classes at Western Kentucky University were randomly…