Goal-Free Evaluation
The rationale for goal-free evaluation can be summarized as follows: First, goals should not be taken as given. Goals, he argues, are generally little more than rhetoric and seldom reveal the real objectives of the project or changes in intent. In addition, many important program outcomes are not included in the list of original program goals or objectives. Scriven (1972) believes that the most important func- tion of goal-free evaluation is to reduce the bias that occurs from knowing program goals and, thus, to increase objectivity in judging the program as a whole. In objectives-oriented evaluation, an evaluator is told the goals of the program and is, therefore, immediately limited in her perceptions—the goals act like blinders, caus- ing her to miss important outcomes not directly related to those goals.
For example, suppose an evaluator is told that the goals of a dropout rehabilitation program are to (1) bring school dropouts into a vocational training program, (2) train them in productive vocations, and (3) place them in stable jobs. She may spend all her time designing and applying measures to look at such things as how many dropouts have been recruited into the program and how many have been placed and have remained in paying jobs. These are worthwhile goals, and the program may be successful on all these counts. But what about the fact that the crime rate of others (non-dropouts) who are receiving employment training has tripled since the dropouts were brought into the vocational training program? Indeed, a hidden curriculum seems to have sprung up: stripping cars. This negative side effect is much more likely to be picked up by the goal-free evaluator than by the objectives-oriented evaluator working behind her built-in blinders.