Critical Challenges Confronting Certification of Evaluators

Abstract

There are many clear-cut reasons why it would be desirable to have a certification process for evaluators, both to help improve the practice of evaluation and to further the field’s maturation into a full-fledged profession. But there are also many strong arguments against attempting to launch an evaluator certification system, at least at this time. The arguments for and against AEA attempting to set up an evaluator certification system are discussed, including two contextual changes that have led to a significant shift in my thinking on this topic over the last three decades. Also presented are four major challenges that would need to be overcome in any effort to develop a viable evaluator certification system. In light of these challenges, I argue that the development and implementation of a certification process can succeed only if pursued patiently and incrementally, with adequate time for AEA to test the feasibility of each of the definitional and procedural processes that would need to undergird such a system. Finally, an agenda of steps is suggested that AEA might take to determine if our field and our collective wisdom have matured sufficiently for us to succeed in such an important undertaking.