Evaluators are often called upon to assess the effects of programs. To assess a program effect, evaluators need a clear understanding of how a program effect is defined. Arguably, the most widely used definition of a program effect is the counterfactual one. According to the counterfactual definition, a program effect is the difference between…

In the current socio-political climate, there is an extra urgency to evaluate whether program impacts are distributed fairly across important student groups in education. Both experimental and quasi-experimental designs (QEDs) can contribute to answering this question. This work demonstrates that QEDs that compare outcomes across higher-level…

This paper describes a framework for educating future evaluators and users of evaluation through community-engaged, experiential learning courses and offers practical guidance about how such a class can be structured. This approach is illustrated via a reflective case narrative describing how an introductory, undergraduate class at a mid-size,…

Culturally responsive approaches to evaluation are emerging across diverse program and community contexts to address increasingly intractable social, economic, political, and environmental concerns. Despite the sense of urgency, responsibility, and moral obligation motivating the use of these approaches, however, empirical research on the…

Bhutan's overarching development paradigm of Gross National Happiness (GNH) promotes a harmonious balance between material and non-material dimensions. But Bhutan's evaluation practice has not yet adopted the principles of GNH, preventing evaluation findings and recommendations from aligning with the priorities of GNH. This article makes the case…

Inspiring the transformational changes required to address the climate crisis, as well as other global challenges, requires acting boldly and taking risks. New approaches that integrate transformational change thinking and concepts into evaluations, and that further deepen the nexus of evaluation and learning, are urgently needed. In 2017, Climate…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, Two-Spirit, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) individuals encounter numerous obstacles to equity across health and healthcare, education, housing, employment, and other domains. Such barriers are even greater for LGBTQ+ individuals who are also Black, Indigenous, and People of Color…

This article compares the purposes and content of the four foundational documents of the American Evaluation Association (AEA): the Program Evaluation Standards, the AEA Public Statement on Cultural Competence in Evaluation, the AEA Evaluator Competencies, and the AEA Guiding Principles. This reflection on alignment is an early effort in the third…

This study challenges persistent misrepresentations of evaluation as a value-neutral inquiry process by presenting an empirical study that deepens understanding of evaluators' values and how they "show up" in evaluation practice. Through semistructured interviews and inductive analysis, we examined the values advanced by a sample of…

The term "meta-evaluation"--referring to the "evaluation of evaluations"--has been in the evaluation lexicon for a half-century. Despite this longevity, research on meta-evaluation is sparse and even more so for internal formative types of meta-evaluation. This exploratory study builds on our understanding of meta-evaluative…

Schools are a critical setting for improving child nutrition and food security and preventing obesity in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture mandates that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program--Education, known as CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL) in California, implements obesity prevention efforts that utilize…

With a lack of consensus of what evaluation is within the field of evaluation, there is a difficulty in communicating to nonevaluators what evaluation is and how evaluation differs from research. To understand how evaluation is defined, both evaluators and researchers were asked how they defined evaluation and, if at all, differentiated evaluation…

The increasing number of anti-trafficking organizations and funding for anti-trafficking services have greatly out-paced evaluative efforts resulting in critical knowledge gaps, which have been underscored by recent recommendations for the development of greater evaluation capacity in the anti-trafficking field. In response to these calls, this…

According to Jennifer Billman, western evaluation bias against indigenous thinking is due to ontological incompetence. If so, the solution she offers (a highly abstract list of criteria) is inadequate since it fails to address let alone resolve a wide range of philosophical dilemmas at the intersection of logic and ontology. Furthermore, it fails…

Evaluators often lament that the general public does not understand what we do. Yet, there is limited empirical research on what the general public does know--and think--about program evaluation. This article seeks to expand our understanding in this domain by capturing views about evaluation from a demographically representative sample of the U.S…