The Objectives-Oriented Evaluation Approach
The distinguishing feature of an objectives-oriented evaluation approach is that the purposes of some activity are specified, and then the evaluation focuses on the extent to which those purposes, or objectives, are achieved. In many cases, programs already have specified objectives. In other cases, the evaluator may work with stakeholders to articulate the program objectives, sometimes called goals or standards. The key role for the evaluator in an objectives-oriented eval- uation is to determine whether some or all of the program objectives are achieved and, if so, how well they are achieved. In education, the objectives may be concerned with the purposes of a single lesson or training program or the knowledge students should attain during an entire year. In public health programs, the objectives may concern the effects of prevention efforts, community health interventions, or patient education. Objectives in environ- mental programs might include such quantitative outcomes as reduction in air pollutants or outcomes that are more difficult to measure such as citizens’ beliefs and behaviors about energy use. The information gained from an objectives- oriented evaluation could be used to determine whether to continue funding the program, change significant portions of it, or throw it out and consider other approaches.
Many people have contributed to the evolution and refinement of the objectives-oriented approach to evaluation since its inception in the 1930s, but the individual most credited with conceptualizing and popularizing the focus on objectives in education is Ralph W. Tyler (1942, 1950).