Program Evaluation Standards in Evaluation Scholarship and Practice

Abstract

Background: The Program Evaluation Standards that were developed and approved by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation have served as a resource to the broader evaluation field for over four decades. However, little evidence has been collected regarding the extent to which the standards have influenced the field through scholarship or professional practice. Purpose: This study seeks to estimate the prevalence of the Program Evaluation Standards in evaluation scholarship and professional practice. Setting: Not applicable. Intervention: Not applicable. Research Design: The study combines a systematic review of evaluation literature with a survey of American Evaluation Association (AEA) and Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) members. Data Collection and Analysis: A systematic review of articles published in 14 evaluation-specific journals from 2010 to 2020 was conducted to identify and typify articles citing the standards. Additionally, AEA and CES members were surveyed, with a focus on knowledge and use of the standards. Descriptive analyses are presented to quantify the prevalence of the standards in evaluation scholarship and practice, respectively. Findings: The systematic review revealed that 4.48% of the 4,460 articles published in 14 evaluation-specific journals from 2010 to 2020 contained some use of the standards. Survey results show that 53.14% of AEA members and 67.12% of CES members are familiar with the standards and that, among those with knowledge of the standards, most AEA (67.67%) and CES (71.74%) members use them at least “occasionally” in their professional work, education, and scholarship activities. Keywords: program evaluation standards; Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation; American Evaluation Association; Canadian Evaluation Society; systematic review; research on evaluation