The chapters in this volume set a rich context for understanding the challenges that environmental evaluators face in their everyday work. In particular, the authors highlight the need for responsive, contextual, flexible, adaptive, multidisciplinary, and mixed-methods evaluation approaches. In this chapter, I reinforce their call and further…

This book describes the evolution of New American Schools (NAS) and its strategy for reform during its first 6 years of operation. After a short introduction in chapter 1, chapter 2 outlines the potential contribution of school designs and design-based assistance to education reform, focusing on the nature of NAS designs, the character of…