| Roundtable: What to Expect When You're Evaluating: How the Circumstances Behind the Evaluation Can Affect Evaluation Practice |
| Roundtable Presentation 536 to be held in the Boardroom on Friday, Nov 13, 1:40 PM to 3:10 PM |
| Sponsored by the AEA Conference Committee |
| Presenter(s): |
| Andrea Beesley, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, abeesley@mcrel.org |
| Sheila Arens, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, sarens@mcrel.org |
| Abstract: The circumstances behind clients' desire for evaluation differ, and these differences have effects on the evaluation itself. This roundtable will include descriptions of several common scenarios, when they occur, and what to expect (including possible pitfalls). Participants will discuss how to best handle the common challenges of each scenario and how the AEA Guiding Principles apply. Scenarios include: when the evaluation is required by the funder but not desired by the client; when the evaluation is desired by practitioners but not to achieve program improvement; when the evaluation is desired by practitioners but mainly as a means to market a product; when the evaluation is desired by practitioners but they are inexperienced with evaluators; when the evaluation is desired by practitioners and they are experienced with evaluators. |