Which of the recent trends we described do you think will have the most impact on evaluation in the future? Why?
Major Concepts and Theories
1. Commissions to report on specific problems, objective tests, and accreditations were among the early forms of evaluation. During the Depression, social scientists began working for the federal government to advise it on ways to cure social ills and improve the economy.
2. The Russians’ launch of Sputnik I created unease in the United States about the ef- fectiveness of techniques used to teach math and science to American students. Congress passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958, which began much evalu- ation in the educational arena.
3. During the 1960s and 1970s, with the Great Society legislation of the Johnson ad- ministration, the federal government began mandating evaluation in many education and social settings. This era of social experimentation represented the first major phase in the growth of evaluation in the United States.
4. The growth of evaluation spurred the first efforts to train and educate profession- als specifically to conduct evaluations. Different evaluation theories, models, and con- cepts to characterize and guide evaluation work began to emerge.
5. The profession became more fully established with the creation of professional as- sociations such as the American Evaluation Association, standards for evaluation, and codes of conduct.
6. The field expanded its methods to include more qualitative approaches and dis- cussions of how evaluators can ensure that evaluation is used by many diverse groups.
7. Since 1990, several trends have influenced evaluation, including its spread to many different countries, more managers and professionals within the organization perform- ing evaluation tasks, a focus on measuring outcomes, and consideration of ways evalua- tion can influence organizational learning. The tasks for evaluation begin to merge with other areas, including performance monitoring and planning.
Chapter 2 • Origins and Current Trends in Modern Program Evaluation 63
Application Exercises
1. What do you see as the critical events and themes in the history of evaluation? How did they shape how people in your field view evaluation? How do people in your field approach an evaluation study?
2. Read one of the interviews cited in the “Suggested Readings” and discuss how this person’s experience in the early years of evaluation influenced the field today. How did this influence how you think about evaluation?
3. How has performance measurement or standards-based education influenced work in your school or organization? Are these evaluation measures useful for your organization? For consumers? Why or why not?
4. How does the culture of your organization support organizational learning? How does it support evaluation?
5. Does your organization measure outcomes? Was the focus on outcomes prompted by a mandate, or did your organization choose this focus? How has examining outcomes affected your organization? Its learning?