Evaluation: A Field in Search of a Definition

Reviews the book, The Evaluation of Instruction: Issues and Problems edited by M. C. Wittrock and David E. Wiley (1970). This book consists primarily of prepared papers (eight), prepared comments on those papers (two or three per paper), and open discussions of the papers and comments. The range of topics considered is broad, including testing, evaluation design and methodology, and instructional theories. The papers are individually stimulating and provocative. The comments are equally meritorious in their own right The open discussions present a rare opportunity to glimpse some of the thoughts of some outstanding scholars about a number of important issues But the total package lacks structure and focus--not too surprising in light of the lack of structure and focus of the field of educational evaluation itself. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)