This article describes an emerging framework for Extension service program evaluation called program theory. Program theory has been defined as "a set of propositions regarding what goes on in the black box during the transformation of input into output." Black box evaluations are those which consider what goes into a program and what comes out of a program without considering what goes on inside a program. It is no longer enough to know that certain objectives were met. Processes occurring between input and output must be assessed using theory-based measures in order to fully use evaluation as a tool in educational improvement.
A Sat, study studied this question.