The CIPP Model for Evaluation

This chapter presents the CIPP Evaluation Model, a comprehensive framework for guiding evaluations of programs, projects, personnel, products, institutions, and evaluation systems. This model was developed in the late 1960s to help improve and achieve accountability for U.S. school programs, especially those keyed to improving teaching and learning in urban, inner city school districts. Over the years, the model has been further developed and applied to educational programs both inside and outside the U.S. Also, the model has been adapted and employed in philanthropy, social programs, health professions, business, construction, and the military. It has been employed internally by schools, school districts, universities, charitable foundations, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations; by contracted external evaluators; and by individual teachers, educational administrators, and other professionals desiring to assess and improve their services.1 This chapter is designed to help educators around the world grasp the model’s main concepts, appreciate its wide-ranging applicability, and particularly consider how they can apply it in schools and systems of schools. The model’s underlying theme is that evaluation’s most important purpose is not to prove, but to improve.