Evaluation DESCRIPTORS IDENTIFIERS Evaluation Reports

Evaluation can serve a variety of educational management questions, but an administrator's ability to use evaluation as a management tool depends not only upon his or her own perception of evaluation but also on the perceptions of other potential evaluation users, in the system. Research has uncovered a variety of factors influencing an evaluation's use potential. These factors reflect human considerations, such as people's attitudes toward and expectations for the evaluation; context considerations, such as an evaluation's requirements within a particular setting; and evaluation considerations, such as procedures used and means of communicating information. The research demonstrates that an evaluation's use potential, and therefore its application as a management tool, can be greatly enhanced if someone takes responsibility for organizing the evaluation to meet specified needs