The author's optimistic view of evaluation in the future includes increased utilization, especially in the private sector; more professionalization, with potential for conflict; more academic program development; more use in policy; increase in the use of complex methods; and more involvement in program development. (SLD)

Conjectures about the future use of controlled randomized experiments for planning and evaluating social programs suggest that they will frequently involve institutions and organizations rather than individuals and that their applications and the publicity surrounding them will increase as they are used in new and controversial ways. (SLD)

A new outcome-oriented, utilization-focused approach to program evaluation is introduced. The new framework encourages stakeholders to consider academic dissemination, product development, and implementation as three primary outcomes when evaluating educational and clinical approaches. Secondary outcomes focus on education, clinical service, and…

Five authors representing diverse perspectives comment on the revised "Program Evaluation Standards" approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Standards are considered in light of their development; measurement issues; program evaluation; evaluation in the local education agency; and the context of evaluation…

Highly productive educational methods have been identified through publicly funded research, but these methods or programs have not been widely disseminated or adopted. Problems with the work ethic, discipline, and competition are described, along with the public's need for learning but its desire for entertainment. (JDD)

A survey of 90 teachers of agriculture, 15 administrators, and 95 teacher educators indicates that evaluation and research methods have been adopted in agricultural education preparation in 9 Nigerian states. The extent to which these methods are perceived as important by education students is not clear. (SLD)

Describes development of qualifying examinations in English and Welsh secondary schools. Evaluates forms and quality of testing in history. Presents suggestions by experts and changes made in England and Wales over 21-year period. Finds that most problems stemmed from desires to cover long periods of time while providing the depth of coverage…

Traditional evaluation approaches assume that consensus can be reached among policymakers, managers, and staff about goals that should guide a program. Evaluations of juvenile detention facilities and a home arrest program illustrate that consensus is not always possible. A constructionist evaluation approach is recommended for such situations.…

Five papers and an introduction discuss internal evaluation (IE), concentrating on the various sources of authority for IE and ways of enhancing IE authority. The roles of internal evaluators, conflicts in the evaluation process, and evaluation in a state education agency are reviewed. (SLD)

An approach for involving beneficiaries in specifying program attributes for evaluators to address is discussed. Methods are outlined for sharing influence among program decision makers and beneficiaries. Application of this approach in the evaluation of a problem-based medical school curriculum is described, with evidence on the enhancement of…

The most successful science-and-technology center exhibits owe as much to the evaluation of visitor reactions as they do to budgets and planning. Explores different types of visitor-evaluation studies and shares examples of successful exhibit designs built upon visitor evaluations, including children's physics exhibits and jellyfish as living art.…

Whether a success-promoting assessment schema (SPAS) can be designed to have a positive impact on the mathematics learning of failure-experienced students was studied with 200 noncollege-bound students in Israel. Results suggest that the SPAS in conjunction with suitable curricular materials could support student learning by changing student…

Critiques school reform evaluation and common misconceptions about it. The article warns against using evaluation to sort students in ways that hinder them from gaining quality education or force teachers into implementing school changes that are unresponsive to students' learning problems. Study findings involving school improvement efforts are…

Examines the validity of large-scale educational assessment, suggesting that construct validity is insufficient for assuming an achievement measure's internal validity and that the uses of assessment results affect external validity. Discusses the role of learning theory in large-scale assessment, purposes of large-scale assessment, item types and…

For some districts, the current obsession with data grows out of the need to comply with No Child Left Behind and additional accountability-related mandates. For others, it dates way back before the phrase "data-driven decision making" rolled so frequently off the tongues of educators. In either case, there is no denying that an integral…