In reference to the way that an evaluator determines which standards to apply for each

program evaluation, Yarbrough and Shulha (2010) avowed the following:

The primary duty of evaluation clients, sponsors, and other users with regard to applying
the standards is to attend to whether the quality of the evaluation is sufficient for its
intended uses. All users should review the needs that the evaluation is intended to address
and ask how well the evaluation meets these needs. It is not enough to commission an
evaluation and then relinquish all responsibility to the evaluator or evaluation team. Users
play an important role in quality control by applying the standards to the processes and
products in evaluations that are important to them. The clarifications, rationales,
suggestions, and case applications of the standards are intended to help apply the
standards with expertise related to their evaluations and their evaluation needs. (p. 35).
Yarbrough and Shulha (2010) further noted that evaluators can begin by reviewing the standards
and deciding which are the most important in judging the quality of the specific evaluations that
interest them. They can apply the standards one by one to determine the extent to which the
evaluation has incorporated each standard needed for overall evaluation quality. An example to
illustrate and support the authors response is as follows. Taiyuan Mercan School is an after
school English training program. The effectiveness of the after school program is unbeknownst
(to Taiyuan Mercan School), hence the overseers did not assess the after school English training
program. As a result, the author (via a summative program evaluation), would utilize an
objective-oriented approach to answer if the after school English training program (at Taiyuan
Mercan School) is meeting its specified goals/objectives. Green (2011) avowed This approach
has been used in business as well as education (p. 21). Additionally, Green stated an objectivesoriented evaluation focuses on a set of objectives and the extent to which these objectives are

met. The information gained from an objectives-oriented evaluation can be used to refine an
activity as well as to evaluate actual outcomes.
References
Green, R. (2011). Case study research: A program evaluation guide for librarians. Santa
Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.
Yarbrough, D., & Shulha, L. (2010). The program evaluation standards: A guide for evaluators
and evaluation users. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.