FINAL READINGS

Special Education Assessment: How and Why It Should Be Conducted

Positive Action Staff• Special Education
Students with disabilities have unique needs alongside their strengths.
Because these students are complex learners, special education teachers must fully understand
their strengths and weaknesses before they can be effective with their instruction.

One tool available to these teachers is special education assessment.

It’s not just teachers who depend on assessments to identify their students’ strengths,
weaknesses, and progress, however, parents, specialists, and counselors, too, rely on these
assessments.
As a means for systematically collecting and interpreting a wide variety of information,
assessments can inform any number of decisions related to:

 Instruction
 Intervention
 Classification
 Placement
Assessment, which is also known as evaluation, may be looked at as a problem-solving process
that involves several ways of collecting information about a student for the purpose of making
decisions.
For this reason, assessment plays a foundational, if not critical, role in special education.
Expert Tip: Don’t confuse the terms “assessment” and “testing.” While the two are related, they
don’t mean the same thing.
Testing refers to the administration of specifically designed and (usually) standardized
educational and psychological measures of behavior.
While testing is a part of the assessment process, assessment itself involves several different
methods of evaluation; only one of which includes tests.
It’s only after a full and individual initial evaluation has been done that a determination can be
made as to whether the child has a disability. At this point, the child will be deemed eligible to
receive special education and related services.
Thankfully, there are programs such as Positive Action that offer teachers excellent teaching
strategies for students with special needs. These strategies, along with an evidence-based SpEd
curriculum, can be crucial in helping students thrive.
How Special Education Assessment Is Conducted
Many parents and educators alike struggle with the issue of evaluating children to determine
their eligibility for special education services.
Consequently, it’s a huge relief for parents when they know their rights under the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Understanding the process can make it that much easier
to ensure their child receives the appropriate services he or she requires.
“A State educational agency, other State agency, or local educational agency shall conduct a full
and individual initial evaluation before the initial provision of special education and related
services to a child with a disability.” - Section 1414 (a), IDEA
In addition to being full and individual, therefore, a child’s initial evaluation must be focused on
that child, and only that child.
The following components must be present in an assessment before the presence of a suspected
disability can be determined:
Step 1: Data Collection
During the collection stage, background information on a child is traced and gathered from
sources such as observation, school records, teacher reports, and parent intakes.
Multiple sources of information are required because IDEA doesn’t consider a single procedure
or group-administered instruments, such as large-scale tests, enough to:
 Diagnose a disability
 Plan an appropriate educational program for the child
 Determine what, if any, special education or related services the child might need
Instead, a full and individual evaluation conducted on the child will collect data related to his or
her:

 Health
 Motor abilities
 Vision and hearing
 General intelligence
 Communicative status
 Academic performance
 Social and emotional status
 
Step 2: Analysis and Evaluation
Once data from various sources have been collected, an analysis is conducted to process and
understand the patterns present in the child’s social, educational, developmental, medical,
environmental, and emotional history.
In addition to the variety of approaches used to collect data for analysis and evaluation (such as
interviews, observations, curriculum-based assessment, and tests), IDEA also requires that
schools use technically sound instruments and processes.

Technically sound instruments are those assessments that are valid and reliable through research.
For assessments and other evaluation materials to qualify as technically sound processes, they
must be:

Administered by knowledgeable and trained professionals

Administered according to the instructions given by the producer of the assessments
Used for the purposes for which the assessment measures are both valid and reliable
A review of the existing evaluation data on the child is then carried out to determine the child’s
educational needs, as well as to determine if there’s enough information to support his or her
eligibility for special education.

This review may conclude that additional information is needed before any determination can be
made.

Step 3: Determination and Recommendation

Once a child’s academic, cognitive, emotional, intellectual, perceptual, psychological, language,
and medical development are evaluated, a determination about the presence of a suspected
disability can be made.
Such a determination is followed by recommendations related to the educational placement and
program that need to be made out to the parents, teachers, and the school.
If, however, additional data is needed before a determination is made, the public agency charged
with the evaluation will identify what’s needed to determine:
Whether the child has a particular category of disability
The child’s present levels of performance at school and his or her academic and developmental
needs
Whether the child requires special education and related services
What additions or modifications, if any, may be needed in the special education and related
services (provided the child qualifies) to enable the child to meet the goals set out in his or her
IEP
Sometimes, the parents of a child with a disability will disagree with the results of their child’s
evaluation as received from the public agency (this could be the school’s student study team or
special education department).

If this happens, the parents have the right to obtain an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE).
An IEE is an evaluation conducted by a qualified examiner who isn’t employed by the public
agency responsible for the child’s education.

In the event that a parent asks for an IEE, it’s the responsibility of the public agency to provide
them with information about where they might obtain the IEE.

Why Special Education Assessment Is Conducted

According to IDEA, having a disability doesn’t automatically qualify a child for special
education.
Rather, the child must not only have a disability that falls under a specific disability category, but
they must also need special education and related services by reason thereof.
The specific disability categories that IDEA lists can be found in the table below:

IDEA Disability Categories

 Autism
 Hearing impairment
 Emotional disturbance
 Visual impairment (blindness included)
  Intellectual disability
 Deafness
 Multiple disabilities
 Developmental delay
 Specific learning disability
 Other health impairment
 Deaf-blindness
 Traumatic brain injury
 Orthopedic impairment
 Speech/language impairment

Therefore, before any special education and related services are provided to a child, an initial
assessment must be done. IDEA requires this evaluation to:

 See if the child qualifies as a “child with a disability” as defined by the Act
 Gather data that helps determine the child’s educational needs
 Guide decision-making on the most suitable educational programming for the child

There are several reasons a special education assessment is conducted:

 To screen children in order to identify those who may be having learning problems or
experiencing delays
 To determine whether a child has a disability and is, therefore, eligible for special
education services
 To diagnose the specific nature of a child’s problems or disability
 To provide detailed information that helps the development of an Individualized
Education Program (IEP)
 To facilitate the making of appropriate decisions about the child’s educational placement
 To plan and develop instruction that’s appropriate to the child’s special needs
 To evaluate the student’s progress
IDEA is quite particular about covering children who, by reason thereof or due to their disability,
need special education and related services.

This is because many children with disabilities don’t necessarily require extra educational
assistance or individualized educational programming.
Such children may be eligible for protection given by other laws such as Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A child with a 504 plan still receives needed assistance to address
disability-related educational needs—just not under IDEA.

Other Considerations in Special Education Assessment

Before a child can be identified as needing to receive special education services under IDEA,
either the parents or the school system must ask that the child be evaluated.
To request an evaluation, parents must call, email, or write the child’s teacher, the school’s
principal, or the Director of Special Education in the school district.
If it’s the school system that is requesting an evaluation, they must ask, in writing, for permission
from the parents. The parents must then give informed written permission before any evaluation
is conducted.
If it is established that services for a student with special education needs are required, consider
using Positive Action as your special education curriculum.
Compared to other SpEd curriculums, Positive Action provides the most content and meets the
highest number of state and national standards. You’ll also benefit from more support, training,
and learning resources than from any other curriculum.

Special Education Assessments: What Schools Need to Know

Types of Special Education Assessments

Special education assessments have several options with each method involving a couple of tests
to determine the student's level in specific areas, such as intelligence, mobility, and
understanding. Here are the different types of assessments for students with special needs.

 Academic Achievement
These tests will aid the school in evaluating how the student performs in various school subjects.
 Developmental Assessments
Developmental assessments are often the first option in determining if small children will need
additional help. While these tests do not apply to older students, they are still relevant in terms of
diagnosis.
 Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
An IQ test will help determine if there is an intellectual component to a student’s learning
disabilities or behavioral issues. This can help schools determine the best manner to help the
student.
  Curriculum-Based Assessments
These checks are more specific, looking at where a student’s skill level lies within a certain
curriculum at a certain point in time. It’s mainly used to ensure the student is progressing
properly.
 End-of-Grade Assessments
While this method is used on all students to ensure they progress satisfactorily, special education
students usually have accommodations or a separate assessment.
 Screening Tests
These tests help determine which students are below the norm in specific areas. Once the initial
assessment is complete, more in-depth tests may be carried out to ensure the student has the best
possible aid in overcoming the problems.
 Adaptive Behavioral Assessment
Students with intellectual disabilities will likely show a deficit in their regular living skills and
adaptive behavior. This screening looks at how the student manages daily living skills, social
abilities, motor abilities, communication, and community participation.
 Behavior Rating Scales
This method has a teacher or even a parent fill in worksheets that rate the various student
behaviors. This will help show which behaviors are more challenging to manage than other
students.

Who Administers the Special Education Assessments

In most cases, teachers are unable to administer the assessments required to determine if a child
requires special education. The actual test will decide who is responsible for the assessment.
These may include:

 Special education teachers

 Occupational therapists
 School psychologist
 Speech and language therapist

The school will need to get written permission from the parents in order to conduct the
assessments, but frequent communication with the student’s family helps. They will be more
willing to cooperate when they feel like partners rather than being told after the fact of any
changes made to their child’s education.
Identifying Children for Evaluation
Before a child’s eligibility under IDEA can be determined, however, a full and individual
evaluation of the child must be conducted. There are at least two ways in which a child may be
identified to receive an evaluation under IDEA:

(1) Parents may request that their child be evaluated. Parents are often the first to notice that their
child’s learning, behavior, or development may be a cause for concern. If they’re worried about
their child’s progress in school and think he or she might need extra help from special education
services, they may call, email, or writeto their child’s teacher, the school’s principal, or the
Director of Special Education in the school district. If the school agrees that an evaluation is
needed, it must evaluate the child at no cost to parents.

(2) The school system may ask to evaluate the child. Based on a teacher’s recommendation,
observations, or results from tests given to all children in a particular grade, a school may
recommend that a child receive further screening or assessment to determine if he or she has a
disability and needs special education and related services. The school system must ask parents
for permission to evaluate the child, and parents must give their informed written permission
before the evaluation may be conducted.

Giving Parents Notice

It is important to know that IDEA requires the school system to notify parents in writing that it
would like to evaluate their child (or that it is refusing to evaluate the child). This is called giving
prior written notice. It is not enough for the agency to tell parents that it would like to evaluate
their child or that it refuses to evaluate their child. The school must also:

 explain why it wants to conduct the evaluation (or why it refuses);

 describe each evaluation procedure, assessment, record, or report used as a basis for
proposing the evaluation (or refusing to conduct the evaluation);
 where parents can go to obtain help in understanding IDEA’s provisions;
 what other options the school considered and why those were rejected; and
 a description of any other factors that are relevant to the school’s proposal (or refusal) to
evaluate the child.
The purpose behind this thorough explanation is to make sure that parents are fully informed,
understand what is being proposed (or refused), understand what evaluation of their child will
involve (or why the school system is refusing to conduct an evaluation of the child), and
understand their right to refuse consent for evaluation, or to otherwise exercise their rights under
IDEA’s procedural safeguards if the school refuses to evaluate.

All written communication from the school must be in a form the general public can understand.
It must be provided in parents’ native language if they do not read English, or in the mode of
communication they normally use (such as Braille or large print) unless it is clearly not feasible
to do so. If parents’ native language or other mode of communication is not a written language,
the school must take steps to ensure:
 that the notice is translated orally (or by other means) to parents in their native language
or other mode of communication,
 that parents understand the content of the notice, and
 that there is written evidence that the above two requirements have been met.
Parental Consent
Before the school may proceed with the evaluation, parents must give their informed written
consent. This consent is for the evaluation only. It does not mean that the school has the parents’
permission to provide special education services to the child. That requires a separate consent.
If parents refuse consent for an initial evaluation (or simply don’t respond to the school’s
request), the school must carefully document all its attempts to obtain parent consent. It may also
continue to pursue conducting the evaluation by using the law’s due process procedures or its
Mediation procedures, unless doing so would be inconsistent with state law relating to parental
consent.
However, if the child is home-schooled or has been placed in a private school by parents
(meaning, the parents are paying for the cost of the private school), the school may not override
parents’ lack of consent for initial evaluation of the child. As the Department of Education
(2006) notes:
Once parents opt out of the public school system, States and school districts do not have the
same interest in requiring parents to agree to the evaluation of their children. In such cases, it
would be overly intrusive for the school district to insist on an evaluation over a parent’s
objection. (71 Fed. Reg. at 46635)

Timeframe for Initial Evaluation

Let’s move on from the prerequisites for initial evaluation (parent notification and parent
consent) to the actual process of initial evaluation and what the law requires. Let us assume that
parents’ informed consent has been given, and it’s time to evaluate the child. Must this
evaluation be conducted within a certain period of time after parents give their consent?
Yes. In its reauthorization of IDEA in 2004, Congress added a specific timeframe: The initial
evaluation must be conducted within 60 days of receiving parental consent for the evaluation–or
if the state establishes its own timeframe for conducting an initial evaluation, within that
timeframe. (In other words: Any timeframe established by the state takes precedence over the
60-day timeline required by IDEA.)

The Scope of Evaluation

A child’s initial evaluation must be full and individual, focused on that child and only that child.
This is a longstanding provision of IDEA. An evaluation of a child under IDEA means much
more than the child sitting in a room with the rest of his or her class taking an exam for that
class, that school, that district, or that state. How the child performs on such exams will
contribute useful information to an IDEA-related evaluation, but large-scale tests or group-
administered instruments are not enough to diagnose a disability or determine what, if any,
special education or related services the child might need, let alone plan an appropriate
educational program for the child.
The evaluation must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional,
developmental, and academic information about the child, including information provided by the
parent. When conducting an initial evaluation, it’s important to examine all areas of a child’s
functioning to determine not only if the child is a child with a disability, but also determine the
child’s educational needs. This full and individual evaluation includes evaluating the child’s:
 health,
 vision and hearing,
 social and emotional status,
 general intelligence,
 academic performance,
 communicative status, and
 motor abilities
Review Existing Data
Evaluation (and particularly reevaluation) typically begins with a review of existing evaluation
data on the child, which may come from the child’s classroom work, his or her performance on
State or district assessments, information provided by the parents, and so on.
The purpose of this review is to decide if the existing data is sufficient to establish the child’s
eligibility and determine educational needs, or if additional information is needed. If the group
determines there is sufficient information available to make the necessary determinations, the
public agency must notify parents:
 of that determination and the reason for it; and
 that parents have the right to request assessment to determine the child’s eligibility and
educational needs.
 Unless the parents request an assessment, the public agency is not required to conduct
one.
If it is decided that additional data is needed, the group then identifies what is needed to
determine:
 whether your son or daughter has a particular category of disability (e.g., “other health
impairment,” “specific learning disability”);
 your child’s present levels of performance (that is, how he or she is currently doing in
school) and his or her academic and developmental needs;
 whether your child needs special education and related services; and
 if so, whether any additions or modifications are needed in the special education and
related services to enable your child to meet the goals set out in the IEP to be developed
and to participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum.

Variety, Variety!
The evaluation must use a variety of assessment tools and strategies. This has been one of the
cornerstones of IDEA’s evaluation requirements from its earliest days. Under IDEA, it is
inappropriate and unacceptable to base any eligibility decision upon the results of only one
procedure. Tests alone will not give a comprehensive picture of how a child performs or what he
or she knows or does not know. Only by collecting data through a variety of approaches (e.g.,
observations, interviews, tests, curriculum-based assessment, and so on) and from a variety of
sources (parents, teachers, specialists, child) can an adequate picture be obtained of the child’s
strengths and weaknesses.
IDEA also requires schools to use technically sound instruments and processes in evaluation.
Technically sound instruments generally refers to assessments that have been shown through
research to be valid and reliable (71 Fed. Reg. at 46642). Technically sound processes requires
that assessments and other evaluation materials be:
 administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel;
 administered in accordance with any instructions provided by the producer of the
assessments; and
 used for the purposes for which the assessments or measures are valid and reliable.
In conjunction with using a variety of sound tools and processes, assessments must include those
that are tailored to assess specific areas of educational need (for example, reading or math) and
not merely those that are designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient, or IQ.
Taken together, all of this information can be used to determine whether the child has a disability
under IDEA, the specific nature of the child’s special needs, whether the child needs special
education and related services and, if so, to design an appropriate program.

Educational Evaluation
Educational evaluation is acquiring and analyzing data to determine how each student’s behavior
evolves during their academic career.
Evaluation is a continual process more interested in a student’s informal academic growth than
their formal academic performance. It is interpreted as an individual’s growth regarding a desired
behavioral shift in the relationship between his feelings, thoughts, and deeds. A student interest
survey helps customize teaching methods and curriculum to make learning more engaging and
relevant to students’ lives.
The classroom response system allowed students to answer multiple-choice questions and
engage in real-time discussions instantly.
The practice of determining something’s worth using a particular appraisal is called evaluation.

What is educational evaluation?

An educational evaluation comprises standardized tests that evaluate a child’s academic aptitude
in several topics.
The assessment will show if a kid is falling behind evenly in each subject area or whether
specific barriers are preventing that student from performing at grade level in a particular
subject.
Educational evaluators generally hold a master’s or doctoral degree in education or psychology,
and assessments take three to five hours to complete.
Examining the success of program interventions is part of educational evaluation. When it comes
to education, these usually have to do with learning (like reading), behavioral, emotional, and
social development (like anti-bullying programs), or more general issues (like changes to the
entire school system, like inclusive education).

Importance of educational evaluation

In the teaching-learning process, educational evaluation is crucial since it serves a common goal.
Diagnostic: Evaluation is a thorough, ongoing process. It aids a teacher in identifying problems
and aids a teacher in solving problems with his students.
Remedial: By remedial work, we imply the appropriate resolution is found once issues are
identified. The development of a student’s personality and the desired change in behavior can be
achieved with a teacher’s help.
To make education goals clear: It’s also crucial to define the goals of schooling. The purpose of
education is to alter a student’s behavior. A teacher can demonstrate how a learner’s conduct has
changed through evaluation.
It offers guidance: A teacher can only provide advice if he is adequately informed about his
students. And only after a thorough assessment that considers all aspects of aptitude, interest,
intelligence, etc., can counsel be provided.
Classification aid: Evaluation is a way for teachers to classify their pupils and assist them by
determining their student’s intelligence, ability, and interest levels.
Beneficial for Improving the Learning and Teaching Process: A teacher can enhance a
student’s personality and learn through evaluation, and he can also know the effectiveness of his
instruction. As a result, it aids in enhancing the teaching and learning process.

Principles of educational evaluation

The following principles form the foundation of educational evaluation:

The principle of continuity: Evaluation is a continuous process as long as the student is in
school. Evaluation in education is an integral part of the teaching-learning process.
Whatever the learner does should be evaluated every day. Only then could the learner have a
better grasp of the language.

The principle of comprehensiveness: When we say “comprehensiveness,” we look at all aspects

of the learner’s personality. It cared about the child’s development in all areas.
The principle of Objectives: Evaluation should be based on the goals of education. It should help
determine where the learner’s behavior needs to be changed or stopped.
The principle of Learning Experience: Evaluation is also related to the learner’s experiences.
In this process, we don’t just look at the learner’s schoolwork but his extracurricular activities.
Both types of activities can help learners gain more experience.
The principle of Broadness: Evaluation should be broad enough to embrace all elements of life.
The principle of child-centeredness is: The child is at the center of the evaluation process. The
child’s behavior is the most important thing to look at when judging.
It helps a teacher know how much a child can understand and how valuable the teaching material
is.
The principle of Application: During the teaching and learning process, a child may learn many
things, but they may not be helpful in everyday life. If he can’t use it, then it’s useless to find. It
can be seen through evaluation.
Evaluation decides which student is better at using his knowledge and understanding in different
situations to help him succeed.
Conclusion
Educational evaluations are meant to present evidence-based arguments regarding whether or not
educational results may be improved by implementing intervention measures. The evaluation
objectives are broadening along with the parameters of educational assessment.
Understanding the various learning exams and evaluations will help you identify the testing most
helpful for your child and the causes of any issues or learning disparities they may be
experiencing.
You might need a professional’s help to decide whether your child needs an evaluation and what
kind of assessment they need.

EVALUATION MODELS
How can the merit and worth of such aspects of curriculum be determined? Evaluation
specialists have proposed an array of models, an examination of which can provide useful
background for the process presented in this work.

Bradley’s Effectiveness Model

How can a developed curriculum be assessed and evaluated for effectiveness? Bradley’s (1985)
book Curriculum Leadership and Development Handbook provides 10 key indicators that can be
used to measure the effectiveness of a developed curriculum. The chart in Exhibit 12.1 is
designed to help you identify your perceptions regarding the 10 indicators to appraise curriculum
effectiveness in your school building or district.

Tyler’s Objectives-Centered Model

One of the earliest curriculum evaluation models, which continues to influence many assessment
projects, was that proposed by Ralph Tyler (1950) in his monograph Basic Principles of
Curriculum and Instruction. As explained in this work and used in numerous large-scale
assessment efforts, the Tyler approach moved rationally and systematically through several
related steps:
 1. Begin with the behavioral objectives that have been previously determined. Those objectives
should specify both the content of learning and the student behavior expected: “Demonstrate
familiarity with dependable sources of information on questions relating to nutrition.”
2. Identify the situations that will give the student the opportunity to express the behavior
embodied in the objective and that evoke or encourage this behavior. Thus, if you wish to assess
oral language use, identify situations that evoke oral language.
3. Select, modify, or construct suitable evaluation instruments, and check the instruments for
objectivity, reliability, and validity.
4. Use the instruments to obtain summarized or appraised results.
5. Compare the results obtained from several instruments before and after given periods in order
to estimate the amount of change taking place.
6. Analyze the results in order to determine strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum and to
identify possible explanations about the reason for this particular pattern of strengths and
weaknesses.
7. Use the results to make the necessary modifications in the curriculum. (as cited in Glatthorn,
1987, p. 273)

The Tyler model has several advantages: It is relatively easy to understand and apply. It is
rational and systematic. It focuses attention on curricular strengths and weaknesses, rather than
being concerned solely with the performance of individual students. It also emphasizes the
importance of a continuing cycle of assessment, analysis, and improvement. As Guba and
Lincoln (1981) pointed out, however, it suffers from several deficiencies. It does not suggest
how the objectives themselves should be evaluated. It does not provide standards or suggest how
standards should be developed. Its emphasis on the prior statement of objectives may restrict
creativity in curriculum development, and it seems to place undue emphasis on the
preassessment and postassessment, ignoring completely the need for formative assessment.
Similarly, Baron and Boschee (1995), in their book Authentic Assessment: The Key to
Unlocking Student Success, stress that “we are encountering fundamental changes in the way we
view and conduct assessment in American schools” (p. 1). And “sixty years have passed since
we experienced such a deep-seated and thoughtful revaluation of our assessment methods”.

Stufflebeam’s Context, Input, Process, Product Model

These obvious weaknesses in the Tyler model led several evaluation experts in the late 1960s
and early 1970s to attack the Tyler model and to offer their own alternatives. The alternative that
had the greatest impact was that developed by a Phi Delta Kappa committee chaired by Daniel
Stufflebeam (1971). This model seemed to appeal to educational leaders because it emphasized
the importance of producing evaluative data for decision making; in fact, decision making was
the sole justification for evaluation, in the view of the Phi Delta Kappa committee.
To service the needs of decision makers, the Stufflebeam model provides a means for generating
data relating to four stages of program operation: context evaluation, which continuously
assesses needs and problems in the context to help decision makers determine goals and
objectives; input evaluation, which assesses alternative means for achieving those goals to help
decision makers choose optimal means; process evaluation, which monitors the processes both to
ensure that the means are actually being implemented and to make the necessary modifications;
and product evaluation, which compares actual ends with intended ends and leads to a series of
recycling decisions. During each of these four stages, specific steps are taken:
• The kinds of decisions are identified.
• The kinds of data needed to make those decisions are identified.
• Those data are collected. • The criteria for determining quality are established.
• The data are analyzed on the basis of those criteria.
• The needed information is provided to decision makers. (as cited in Glatthorn, 1987, pp. 273–
274)

The context, input, process, product (CIPP) model, as it has come to be called, has several
attractive features for those interested in curriculum evaluation. Its emphasis on decision making
seems appropriate for administrators concerned with improving curricula. Its concern for the
formative aspects of evaluation remedies a serious deficiency in the Tyler model. Finally, the
detailed guidelines and forms created by the committee provide stepby-step guidance for users.
The CIPP model, however, has some serious drawbacks associated with it. Its main weakness
seems to be its failure to recognize the complexity of the decision-making process in
organizations. It assumes more rationality than exists in such situations and ignores the political
factors that play a large part in these decisions. Also, as Guba and Lincoln (1981) noted, it seems
difficult to implement and expensive to maintain.

Scriven’s Goal-Free Model

Michael Scriven (1972) was the first to question the assumption that goals or objectives are
crucial in the evaluation process. After his involvement in several evaluation projects where so-
called side effects seemed more significant than the original objectives, he began to question the
seemingly arbitrary distinction between intended and unintended effects. His goal-free model
was the outcome of this dissatisfaction. In conducting a goal-free evaluation, the evaluator
functions as an unbiased observer who begins by generating a profile of needs for the group
served by a given program (Scriven is somewhat vague as to how this needs profile is to be
derived). Then, by using methods that are primarily qualitative in nature, the evaluator assesses
the actual effects of the program. If a program has an effect that is responsive to one of the
identified needs, then the program is perceived as useful.
Scriven’s main contribution, obviously, was to redirect the attention of evaluators and
administrators to the importance of unintended effects—a redirection that seems especially
useful in education. If a mathematics program achieves its objectives of improving
computational skills but has the unintended effect of diminishing interest in mathematics, then it
cannot be judged completely successful. Scriven’s emphasis on qualitative methods also seemed
to come at an opportune moment, when there was increasing dissatisfaction in the research
community with the dominance of quantitative methodologies. As Scriven himself notes,
however, goal-free evaluation should be used to complement, not supplant, goal-based
assessments. Used alone, it cannot provide sufficient information for the decision maker. Some
critics have faulted Scriven for not providing more explicit directions for developing and
implementing the goal-free model; as a consequence, it probably can be used only by experts
who do not require explicit guidance in assessing needs and detecting effects.

Stake’s Responsive Model

Robert Stake (1975) made a major contribution to curriculum evaluation in his development of
the responsive model, because the responsive model is based explicitly on the assumption that
the concerns of the stakeholders—those for whom the evaluation is done—should be paramount
in determining the evaluation issues. He made the point this way: To emphasize evaluation
issues that are important for each particular program, I recommend the responsive evaluation
approach. It is an approach that trades off some measurement precision in order to increase the
usefulness of the findings to persons in and around the program.
An educational evaluation is a responsive evaluation if it orients more directly to program
activities than to program intents; responds to audience requirements for information; and if the
different value perspectives present are referred to in reporting the success and failure of the
program. (p. 14)
Stake recommends an interactive and recursive evaluation process that embodies these
steps:
• The evaluator meets with clients, staff, and audiences to gain a sense of their perspectives on
and intentions regarding the evaluation.
• The evaluator draws on such discussions and the analysis of any documents to determine the
scope of the evaluation project.
• The evaluator observes the program closely to get a sense of its operation and to note any
unintended deviations from announced intents.
• The evaluator discovers the stated and real purposes of the project and the concerns that various
audiences have about it and the evaluation.
• The evaluator identifies the issues and problems with which the evaluation should be
concerned. For each issue and problem, the evaluator develops an evaluation design, specifying
the kinds of data needed.
• The evaluator selects the means needed to acquire the data desired. Most often, the means will
be human observers or judges.
• The evaluator implements the data-collection procedures.
• The evaluator organizes the information into themes and prepares “portrayals” that
communicate in natural ways the thematic reports. The portrayals may involve videotapes,
artifacts, case studies, or other “faithful representations.”
• By again being sensitive to the concerns of the stakeholders, the evaluator decides which
audiences require which reports and chooses formats most appropriate for given audiences. (as
cited by Glatthorn, 1987, pp. 275–276) Clearly, the chief advantage of the responsive model is
its sensitivity to clients.

Eisner’s Connoisseurship Model

Elliot Eisner (1979) drew from his background in aesthetics and art education in developing his
“connoisseurship” model, an approach to evaluation that emphasizes qualitative appreciation.
The Eisner model is built on two closely related constructs: connoisseurship and criticism.
Connoisseurship, in Eisner’s terms, is the art of appreciation—recognizing and appreciating
through perceptual memory, drawing from experience to appreciate what is significant. It is the
ability both to perceive the particulars of educational life and to understand how those particulars
form part of a classroom structure. Criticism, to Eisner, is the art of disclosing qualities of an
entity that connoisseurship perceives. In such a disclosure, the educational critic is more likely to
use what Eisner calls “nondiscursive”—a language that is metaphorical, connotative, and
symbolic. It uses linguistic forms to present, rather than represent, conception or feeling.
Educational criticism, in Eisner’s formulation, has three aspects. The descriptive aspect is an
attempt to characterize and portray the relevant qualities of educational life—the rules, the
regularities, the underlying architecture. The interpretive aspect uses ideas from the social
sciences to explore meanings and develop alternative explanations—to explicate social
phenomena. The evaluative aspect makes judgments to improve the educational processes and
provides grounds for the value choices made so that others might better disagree.
The chief contribution of the Eisner model is that it breaks sharply with the traditional scientific
models and offers a radically different view of what evaluation might be. In doing so, it broadens
the evaluator’s perspective and enriches his or her repertoire by drawing from a rich tradition of
artistic criticism. Its critics have faulted it for its lack of methodological rigor, although Eisner
has attempted to refute such charges. Critics have also argued that use of the model requires a
great deal of expertise, noting the seeming elitism implied in the term connoisseurship.
CIPP Model
The CIPP model was created in the 1960s by Daniel Stufflebeam and is considered a decision-
oriented model that systematically collects information about a program to identify strengths and
limitations in content or delivery, to improve program effectiveness or plan for the future of a
program. Users of this model are often focused on management-oriented evaluation, as this
framework combines four stages of evaluation. The focus is on continuous improvement by
concentrating on four areas of a program: the overall goals or mission Context Evaluation); the
plans and resources (Input Evaluation); the activities or components (Process Evaluation); and
the outcomes or objectives (Product Evaluation).