Evaluation in Action: Interviews With Expert Evaluators is the first book to go behind the scenes of real evaluations to explore the issues faced—and the decisions made—by notable evaluators in the field. Drawing from the popular "Exemplars" section in the American Journal of Evaluation (AJE), the book′s twelve interviews with evaluators illustrate a variety of evaluation practices in different settings and include commentary and analysis on what the interviews teach about evaluation practice.

1Evaluation and Its Practice: Some Key Considerations and Choices -- 1 -- Beyond Definitions: Important Distinctions About Evaluation -- 2 -- Part I Traditional Evaluations: Evaluations With the Primary Purpose of Judging Merit and Worth -- 19 -- 2 The Evaluation of GAIN: A Welfare-to-Work Program in California: An Interview With James A. Riccio -- 23 -- Summary of the GAIN Evaluation -- 25 -- Dialogue With James A. Riccio -- 29 -- 3 Evaluation of the Natural Resources Leadership Program, 1995 Through 1998: An Interview With Jennifer C. Greene -- 45 -- Summary of the Evaluation -- 47 -- Dialogue With Jennifer Greene -- 51 -- 4 The Evaluation of the Ft. Bragg and Stark County Systems of Care for Children and Adolescents: An Interview With Len Bickman -- 69 -- Summary of the Ft. Bragg and Stark County Evaluations -- 71 -- Dialogue With Len Bickman -- 73 -- Part II Evaluations With a Focus on Description -- 93 -- 5 The Evaluation of the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP): An Interview With David Fetterman -- 97 -- Summary of the STEP Evaluation -- 99 -- Dialogue With David Fetterman -- 102 -- 6 The Evaluation of the Homeless Families Program: An Interview With Debra J. Rog -- 129 -- A Summary of the Evaluation of the Homeless Families Program -- 131 -- Dialogue With Debra J. Rog -- 135 -- 7 The Council for School Performance: Performance Reports for Georgia Schools: An Interview With Gary T. Henry -- 157 -- A Summary of the Performance Reports for Georgia Schools -- 159 -- Dialogue With Gary T. Henry -- 162 -- Part III Evaluations With an Emphasis on Program Planning and Organizational Development -- 179 -- 8 Evaluation of the Special Education Program at the Anoka-Hennepin School District: An Interview With Jean A. King -- 183 -- Summary of the Evaluation of the Special Education Program at the Anoka-Hennepin School District #11 -- 185 -- Dialogue With Jean A. King -- 188 -- 9 Evaluation of the Work and Health Initiative With a Focus on Winning New Jobs: An Interview With Stewart I. Donaldson -- 211 -- Summary of the Evaluation of the Work and Health Initiative -- 213 -- Dialogue With Stewart Donaldson -- 220 -- 10 Developing an Evaluation System for the Corporate Education Development and Training (CEDT) Department at Sandia National Laboratories: An Interview With Hallie Preskill -- 249 -- Summary of the Development of an Evaluation System for the Corporate Education Development and Training (CEDT) Department at Sandia National Laboratories -- 251 -- Dialogue With Hallie Preskill -- 254 -- 11 Evaluation of the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative: An Interview With Ross Conner -- 269 -- Summary of the Evaluation of the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative -- 271 -- Dialogue With Ross Conner -- 278 -- Part IV Evaluations Concerning Cultural Competence -- 295 -- 12 Evaluation of the Fun With Books Program: An Interview With Katrina Bledsoe -- 299 -- Summary of the Evaluation of the Fun With Books Program -- 301 -- Dialogue With Katrina Bledsoe -- 304 -- 13 Evaluation of Godfrey's Children Center in Tanzania: An Interview With Allan Wallis and Victor Dukay -- 325 -- Summary of the Evaluation of Godfrey's Children Center -- 327 -- Dialogue With Victor Dukay and Allan Wallis -- 331 -- Part V Analysis, Interpretations, and Conclusions -- 353 -- 14 Exemplars' Choices: What Do These Cases Tell Us About Practice? -- 355 -- Choices Concerning One's Role in an Evaluation -- 357 -- Choices Concerning the Issues or Questions the Evaluation Will Address -- 364 -- Choices Concerning Interactions With and Involvement of Stakeholders -- 369 -- Choices in Methodology -- 374 -- Choices Concerning Use and Dissemination of Results -- 384 -- Lessons Learned for the Practice of Evaluation -- 387 -- 15 Analyzing the Practice of Evaluation: What Do These Cases Tell Us About Theory? -- 393 -- The Call for Research on Evaluation -- 394 -- Exemplar Interview Comparative Analysis: Insights Regarding Conceptual Notions of Evaluation Practice -- 395 -- Evaluation Methods -- 414 -- Evaluation Use -- 423 -- Concluding Thoughts and Limitations of the Analysis -- 428 -- Appendix Other Categories for the Interviews -- 437.