In 2003 foster youth employed by a foster youth advocacy organization suggested that an evaluation of group home services to foster youth be conducted in Alameda County, California. This report presents the development and conduct of this evaluation study; how funding was obtained; and how foster youth were hired, trained, and employed to produce…

This chapter describes evaluator behaviors revealed by the case analysis of a participatory and developmental evaluation. The analysis revealed that the evaluator paid specific attention to individual stakeholder cues. These cues were related to three elements of the evaluation: negotiating the design, monitoring individual stakeholder needs, and…

The two authors conducted a small empirical study to attempt to find support for--or evidence against--the view that international tests of English language proficiency are unfair to speakers of non-standards forms of English, since these tests privilege standard forms. We explore the question of whose norms should be imposed in these tests, and…

This paper is a reflection on practice. It begins by briefly describing an evaluation of an externally-funded education programme in Kosovo (a new country in south-east Europe). The programme was managed by Save the Children in Kosovo and aimed to develop and promote models of inclusive education through three strands of activity. The first of…

This article provides a brief summary of the seven articles in this special issue through the lens of the concept of "caring reflexivity". In joining "caring" and "reflexivity", we deepen the conversation about what constitutes reflexivity, encouraging an explicit focus on the relational. Revisiting the first article,…

A central issue in the use of rapid evaluation and assessment methods (REAM) is achieving a balance between speed and trustworthiness. In this article, the authors review the key differences and common features of this family of methods and present a case example that illustrates how evaluators can use rapid evaluation techniques in their own…

The implications of the concept of fairness, to the level of the day-to-day business of the educational evaluator is explored. Section 2 presents a brief critical examination of the notion of objectivity in evaluation, and introduces the concept of fairness as an alternative focus for qualitative evaluation. In Section 3, there is a discussion of…

This checklist was prepared as an aid to evaluators, funding agents, clients, members of program staff about to be evaluated, and pertinent audiences in planning, preparing, and reviewing contracts for conducting evaluation studies. It contains neither a set of "how to" procedures for constructing contracts, nor a discussion of the many…

Barber reviews TM 503 787, saying that the authors have painted a rosy, optimistic view of the future for evaluators. Although he feels pessimistic about the actual probability of such events happening, he hopes that others will share this optimism. (Author/CTM)

Policy Goal Percentaging Analysis is a microcomputer program which can perform a variety of useful decision-making analyses. The components of the program, its applications, and limitations are examined. The program is related to the field of multicriteria decision-making and is most useful to program evaluators. (DWH)

A comparison between research and evaluation, especially with regard to the concept of objectivity, is presented. For researchers and evaluators alike, threats to objectivity are a genuine concern. Difficulties of maintaining neutrality are discussed. (Author/AL)

Studied the use of descriptive graphic rating scales by 11 raters to evaluate students' work, exploring different design features. Used a Rasch-model based rating scale analysis to determine that all the continuous scales could be considered to have at least five points, and that defined midpoints did not result in higher student separation…

Discusses the sources and signs of excessive evaluation anxiety in program evaluation and provides some strategies to help evaluators prevent and manage this common problem. Shows how more than technical skills are required to conduct high quality program evaluation. (SLD)

The role of the evaluator in insuring utilization and quality of evaluation results is discussed. Topics covered include a utilization-focused vision of accountability, overcoming staff fears of evaluation, eliciting the right information from users, situational responsiveness, and advocacy. (TJH)

A mnemonic is suggested to help evaluators remember the five guiding principles of evaluation developed by the American Evaluation Association. A character from F. Baum's "Wizard of Oz" is associated with each of these: (1) systematic inquiry; (2) competence; (3) respect for people; (4) responsibility to general and public welfare; and…