Examines the value of upward evaluation by reviewing historical outcomes of upward evaluations in industrial psychology/business literature and library literature. Also discusses the utilization of upward evaluation in libraries and focuses on results of the Western Kentucky University Libraries' annual process of supervisor evaluation. Appendixes…

The construct "multicultural validity" is proposed as the vehicle for organizing concerns about pluralism and diversity in evaluation and as a way to reflect on the cultural boundness of evaluation. It should be conceptualized as a central dimension of validity and a viable focus of concern in evaluation theory. (SLD)

Y. S. Lincoln and E. G. Guba consider L. Sechrest's comments on their book "Fourth Generation Evaluation" as less a criticism than an attempt to demolish. D. M. Fetterman also objects to much of Sechrest's address. E. J. Posavac generally agrees with conclusions of Welch and Sternhagen. (SLD)

How policy is developed and how evaluators can participate in the process are discussed, focusing on federal evaluators. The strongest weapon of an evaluator is a short, easy-to-read report with a simple, compelling message. Federal policy evaluators must learn to be content with slow gains. (SLD)

Purposes of multivariate analyses are discussed, focusing on the primary purposes of prediction and structure identification and the secondary purpose of response variable ordering. The sound initial choice of response variables and the advisability of simpler analyses when feasible are discussed. (SLD)

Critiques Annual Staff Reports, personnel evaluations in the British Civil Service. Considers the implications of management by objectives and staff evaluation practices in the National Health Service and universities for Civil Service evaluations. (SK)

Reviews alternatives to program evaluation. Suggested qualitative methods are interviews; participant observation; and journal analysis. Meaningful designs for evaluation are case studies; participatory and collaborative evaluation; and mixed methods. Uses for evaluation are utilization-focused evaluation; explicating and developing program…

Chelimsky, former head of the Program Evaluation and Methodology Division of the General Accounting Office, suggested that advocacy by evaluators destroys their credibility. Evaluators should, this author argues, be advocates for democracy and the public interest, with the question being how explicitly and how defensibly. (SLD)

Discusses performance improvement interventions, including training, and the need for evaluation to measure training effectiveness. Reviews six evaluation perspectives of corporate training programs and recommends four areas for further study, including overall evaluation models and appropriate uses of the results of evaluations. (Contains 63…

Critically examines five issues surrounding the use of student evaluations of teaching for summative decisions: current practices, validity concerns, improving the reporting of results, improving the decision-making process, and incorporating validity estimates into the decision-making process. Concludes with a list of recommendations for…

Responds to Abrami's proposals in "Improving Judgments about Teaching Effectiveness Using Teacher Rating Forms." Draws from comments made by members of an American Education Research Association special interest group and offers a personal perspective. (EV)

Preceding articles in this issue, "Improving Judgments about Teaching Effectiveness Using Teacher Rating Forms" (Abrami) and "Can We Put Precision into Practices? Commentary and Thoughts Engendered by Abrami's 'Improving Judgments about Teacher Effectiveness Using Teacher Rating Forms,'" offered: (1) Abrami's proposals to…

Explores teaching evaluations with a emphasis on student evaluations of teaching effectiveness (SETEs). Discusses the role of SETEs in the scholarship of teaching; addresses their two primary uses, highlighting the difference between global and specific items contained within most instruments; briefly addresses the research on their accuracy;…

Focuses on the ideal future of evaluation as a discipline, including evaluation in the nonacademic world and evaluation as it applies to elementary, secondary, and higher education. In the ideal future, evaluation will be fully accepted as a key discipline and will be fully used in rational discourse and policy decisions. (SLD)

Explores the negative reputation of evaluation outside the evaluation profession, considering evaluator credibility, evaluation costs, undesirable consequences of evaluation, and the frequent doubts about evaluation in the academic community. To improve both reputation and practice, evaluation must become known as a helping profession. Evaluators…