An Analysis of Alternative Approaches to Evaluation

The field of educational evaluation has developed dramatically over the past ten years. Following a period of relative inactivity in the 1950s, educational evaluation efforts experienced a period of revitalization in the mid 1960s. This revitalization was influenced by articles by Cronbach (1963), Scriven (1967), Stake (1967), and Stufflebeam (1966). The field’s development was further stimulated by the evaluation requirements of the Great Society programs that were launched in 1965; by the nationwide accountability movement that began in the early 1970s; and, most importantly, by the mounting responsibilities and resources that society assigned to educators.