Background: Social experiments frequently exploit data from administrative records. However, most administrative data systems are designed to track earnings or benefit payments among residents within a single state. When an experimental participant moves across state lines, his entries in the data system of his state of origin consist entirely of…

Part of the history of bilingual education and its evaluation is reviewed, and the implications for evaluation practice are discussed. Technical problems in conducting a bilingual evaluation are identified; and federal, state, and local strategies for coping with these problems are discussed. (TJH)