The Standards for Evaluation of Educational Programs, Projects, and Materials

Abstract

In 1980, a Joint Committee appointed by 12 organizations¹ concerned with educational evaluation issued one of the most significant documents to date in the field of educational evaluation. It consisted of a set of 30 standards to be used both to guide the conduct of evaluation of educational programs, projects, and materials and also to judge the soundness of such evaluations. The document, entitled Standards for Evaluations of Educational Programs, Projects, and Materials, ² was published in 1981 by the McGraw-Hill Company. The standards were the result of an extensive developmental process, which involved the work of about 200 people and required more than four years to complete. The committee’s work did not stop with the publication of the standards, and it presently works to promote sound use and conducts a process of ongoing review and development. This chapter briefly describes the development of the standards and the nature of the standards, and summarizes them for the reader.