ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the following steps in evaluating services for gifted students: describing the program; identifying key stakeholders; focusing on key evaluation concerns and generating evaluation questions; determining the best source(s) of information and data to answer the evaluation questions; and analyzing and reporting the results of data collection. In the evaluation of gifted programs, the data from program evaluations serves to provide documentation of the quality and importance of any special services offered to the targeted students. In the press of making decisions about the best way to identify and serve students, attention to program evaluation is often deferred. A quality program for gifted students in a school district must be developed based on the best and most current research and theory given the best understanding of the unique educational, social, and emotional needs of the students in that school district.
