The Meta-Evaluand: The Evaluation of Project TEAMS

In August 1997, a series of messages on EVALTALK, the American Evaluation Association’s electronic discussion group, emphasized the need for meta-evaluation. To prompt public critique and discussion, this description of the evaluation of Project TEAMS was submitted to The American Journal of Evaluation. The evaluation used a program logic model to guide data collection and reporting activities and relied on multiple sources of data. Because of implementation problems in the program and the inability of the evaluation’s methods to support strong inferences, the evaluation’s conclusions about the program were mixed and tentatively stated. The public review by independent evaluators of an evaluation that is not exemplary, but may be typical in its strengths and weaknesses, is expected to demonstrate the utility of meta-evaluation to evaluators and evaluation clients and audiences