A Rationale for Program Evaluation

Abstract

There are two closely related rationales, each of which is often referred to as the Tyler Rationale. One was developed specifically for evaluation activities and was first published in 1934 under the title Constructing Achievement Tests. ¹ The other evolved from my work as director of evaluation for the Eight-Year Study. It was a general rationale for curriculum development and was first published in 1945 as a mimeographed syllabus for my course at the University of Chicago, entitled Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. This was later picked up by the University of Chicago Press and published as a book in 1949.² Each of these statements was formulated as an outgrowth of particular circumstances and is intended to furnish a defensible and orderly procedure to deal with such situations.