Pinning a Wave to the Shore: Conceptualizing Evaluation Use in School Systems

In the boom days of the 1960's and 1970's, evaluators could afford to be optimistic. The impetus provided by linking federal monies to program evaluations, together with a growing sense in the field of just how such evaluations could aid decisionmakers in various settings, led many to hope that a rational and welltempered approach to education could succeed. The image of the overworked decisionmaker calmly considering information before taking action could bring smiles to the faces of the community. But belief in this image faded quickly as evaluators who had done everything by the book saw their efforts disregarded and their carefully compiled reports placed in obscure filing cabinets never again to see the light of day or ignominiously consigned to gather dust among rarely used books. The initial literature on use abounds with gloomy perceptions of the failure of educational evaluation (King, Thompson, & Pechman, 1982). At one point, Stake (1976)