The Politics of Evaluation and Accountability on the School Scene.

Politics of evaluation and accountability are not practiced solely by evaluators and accountants; everyone does it. This is because evaluation and accountability are fraught with decision situations which embody the potential to become political. Among sources of conflict in evaluation and accountability are questions of goals and priorities, economic matters, perceptions of evaluation and accountability by outsiders. Evaluation is also threatening to many school administrators and teachers; thus external evaluators have been employed by many groups wishing to evaluate school programs. The implications for the school media center focus on resources and policy-making, with an informal evaluation of the school library every time a budget is allocated. Librarians must become knowledgeable in the techniques of evaluation in order to provide policymakers with needed information, but must also learn how to apply these techniques in politically sensitive environments. (SK)