ABSTRACT
Because special education has been deeply situated in the realm of compliance as a result of the laws and regulations governing its practice since 1975, evaluations of programs and services have typically taken a goal-oriented, objective approach often linked to specific outcome measures. Although this approach is appropriate in answering certain types of evaluation questions, the intent of this chapter is to shift the focus to other approaches to evaluation that serve alternate purposes and different audiences concerned with special education programs and services to students with disabilities and their families. These evaluation approaches are discussed in terms of their purpose, questions asked, methods, intended audiences, and desired outcomes. Engaging methods that complement the purposes of evaluations create multiple streams of information for leaders of special education to make transformative, data-based decisions that are just, fair, and ethical.
