I. Conducting Evaluation--The Sourcebook.- 1. Focusing the Evaluation.- What will be Evaluated'.- What is the Purpose for Evaluating'.- Who will be Affected by or Involved in the Evaluation'.- What Elements in the Setting are Likely to Influence the Evaluation'.- What are the Critical Evaluation Questions'.- Does the Evaluation Have the Potential for Success'.- 2. Designing Evaluation.- What are Some Alternative Ways to Design Evaluation'.- What does a Design Include'.- How do You Construct a Design'.- How do You Recognize a Good Design'.- 3. Collecting Information.- What Kinds of Information should You Collect'.- What Procedures should You Use to Collect the Needed Information'.- How much Information should You Collect'.- Will You Select or Develop Instruments'.- How do You Establish Reliable and Valid Instrumentation'.- How do You Plan the Information Collection Effort to Get the Most Information at the Lowest Cost'.- 4. Analyzing Information.- How will You Handle Returned Data'.- Are Data Worth Analyzing'.- How will You Analyze the Information'.- How will You Interpret the Results of Analyses'.- 5. Reporting Information.- Who should Get an Evaluation Report'.- What Content should be Included in a Report'.- How will Reports be Delivered'.- What is the Appropriate Style and Structure for the Report'.- How can You Help Audiences Interpret and Use Reports'.- When should Reports be Scheduled'.- 6. Managing Evaluation.- Who should run the Evaluation'.- How should Evaluation Responsibilities be Formalized'.- How much should the Evaluation Cost'.- How should Evaluation Tasks be Organized and Scheduled'.- What Kinds of Problems can be Expected'.- 7. Evaluating Evaluation (Meta-Evaluation).- What are Some Good Uses of Meta-Evaluation'.- Who should do the Meta-Evaluation'.- What Criteria or Standards Should You Use To Evaluate The Evaluation'.- How do You Apply a Set of Meta-Evaluation Criteria'.- What Procedures are Used in Meta-Evaluation'.- II. Applications--The Casebook.- The Local School Case Examples.- Overview of the Cases.- Case L-1: A School Principal Asks: How Can We Determine What Inservice (if any) is Needed'.- Case L-2: A Special Education Staff Member Asks: How Can I Design, Operate and Evaluate a Workshop'.- Case L-3: The Staff of A Resource Center Ask: How Can We Find Out Why Our Learning Center Isn't Working'.- Case L-4: Project Staff Members (and a Superintendent) Ask: How Can We Tell if Our Inservice Project is Making a Difference to Pupils'.- The State Agency Case Examples.- Overview of the Cases.- Case S-1: Evaluation Consultants Ask: How Can We Meet a State Commission's Information Demands'.- Case S-2: A Program Manager (from a Strange Land) Asks: Now That Funds Are Cut, How Can I Review Proposals Without Alienating Applicants or Legislators'.- Case S-3: A State Coordinator Asks: Is the Staff Developing We've Been Funding Working'.- The College and University Case Examples.- Overview of the Cases.- Case C-1: A Special Educaton Department Asks: How Can We Revise Our Curriculum to Meet New Certification Requirements'.- Case C-2: The Director of a Small Project Asks: How Can I Use Evaluation Techniques to Help Manage My Project'.- Case C-3: An Assistant Professor Asks: What Information Do I Need to Evaluate My Foundation's Course'.- Case C-4: An Internal Evaluator for a Department Project Asks: Is Our Evaluation Design Good Enough to Use'.- Case C-5: A Department Chairperson Asks: How Can We Use Evaluation Data to Refocus the Curriculum'.