This book presents controversial aspects of evaluation and aims at broadening perspectives and insights in the evaluation field. Chapter 1 criticizes modes of evaluation and the basic rationality behind them and focuses on assumptions that have problematic consequences. Chapter 2 introduces concepts of evaluation and examines methods of grading students, judging teacher effectiveness, and determining the worth of new educational programs. Chapter 3 examines logical issues arising from the nature of evaluation and focuses on the place of value judgments in evaluation. Chapter 4 focuses on three questions relating to the products of naturalistic studies. Chapter 5 addresses the following issues: a) the use of regression analysis to discover how and why educational programs are successful or unsuccessful, b) the strengths and weaknesses of various evaluative research designs, c) the effects of statistical and measurement error on conclusions drawn from a study, and d) future trends in evaluation. Chapter 6 discusses three central issues in the field of secondary education. Chapter 7 emphasizes the following themes: a) learning should be examined while it is taking place; b) the milieu in which learning occurs should be analyzed; and c) standardized test outcomes are not the sole criterion on which the success or failure of an educational enterprise should be judged. Chapter 8 presents five substantive theses concerning the roots of the testing and evaluation movement. (PD)