Current practice in educational program evaluation was examined through analyses of 232 reports submitted, from 1980 to 1983, by institutions seeking approval for their programs from the U.S. Department of Education's Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP). The JDRP reviews these reports to determine whether educational programs have demonstrated that they are effective. This study also examined how evaluation methods differed for programs which were approved or not approved by the JDRP during this time period. Certain features were found more often in programs approved than those not approved. These included: (1) the presence of an independent evaluator affiliated with a research firm; (2) the use of more than one evaluation design; (3) the absence of obvious errors in data analyses; and (4) the implementation of evaluation designs of high quality. Features of the educational programs and their evaluations were documented through content analyses. Descriptive profiles were developed for the entire sample, as well as the subsamples of approved and not-approved programs. Regression analyses were used to relate differences in evaluation methodology to differences in the programs' effect size. The appended tables include summary data on program content, approvals, grade level, evaluators, outcome measures used, test validity and reliability, evaluation design, data analysis, and effect size. A 36-item reference list concludes the document. (MAC)