Joint Committee On Standards For Educational Evaluation - The Program Evaluation Standards

The Program Evaluation Standards

• The utility standards are intended to ensure that an evaluation will serve the information needs of intended users. The utility standards for program evaluation incorporate the following :

• Stakeholder Identification: the people involved in the evaluation and those who will be affected by the evaluation must be identified so that their needs can be addressed.
• Evaluator Credibility: the people conducting the evaluation must be trustworthy and competent to perform the evaluation in order for the evaluation's findings to achieve maximum credibility and acceptance.
• Information Scope and Selection: the collected information must be broadly selected so that it addresses pertinent questions about the program and is able to be responsive to the needs and interests of clients and other specified stakeholders.
• Values Identification: the perspectives, procedures and rationale used to interpret the findings of the evaluation should be carefully described so that the bases for value judgments are clear.
• Report Clarity: an evaluation report must precisely describe the program being evaluated, including its context, purposes, procedures and findings so that the essential information is provided and easy to understand.
• Report Timelines and Dissemination: evaluation reports and any significant interim findings should be disseminated to intended users so that they may be used in a timely fashion.
• Evaluation Impact: the way an evaluation is planned, conducted and reported should encourage follow-through by stakeholders in order to increase the liklihood that the evaluation will be used.

• The feasibility standards are intended to ensure that an evaluation will be realistic, prudent, diplomatic, and frugal. The feasibility standards for program evaluation incorporate the following :

• Practical Procedures: evaluation procedures should be practical in order to keep disruption to a minimum while relevant and needed information is obtained.
• Political Viability: whilst planning and conducting the evaluation one must anticipate the different positions of various interest groups so that their co-operation may be obtained. This will also allow one to avert or counteract any possible attempts by these groups to obstruct evaluation operations or to bias or misapply the evaluation's results.
• Cost Effectiveness: a good evaluation should be efficient and produce information of sufficient value to justify the use of available resources.

• The propriety standards are intended to ensure that an evaluation will be conducted legally, ethically, and with due regard for the welfare of those involved in the evaluation, as well as those affected by its results. The propriety standards for program evaluation incorporate the following :

• Service Orientation
• Formal Agreement
• Rights of Human Subjects
• Human Interactions
• Complete and Fair Assessment
• Disclosure of Findings
• Conflict of Interest
• Fiscal Responsibility

• The accuracy standards are intended to ensure that an evaluation will reveal and convey technically adequate information about the features that determine worth or merit of the program being evaluated. The accuracy standards for program evaluation incorporate the following :

• Program Documentation
• Context Analysis
• Described Purposes and Procedures
• Defensible Information Sources
• Valid Information
• Reliable Information
• Systematic Information
• Analysis of Quantitative Information
• Analysis of Qualitative Information
• Justified Conclusions
• Impartial Reporting
• Meta-Evaluation