When evaluators disagree: Perplexities and perspectives

It is often held that one function served by evaluation in the fields of education and social policy generally is to assist the administrator in the making of rational decisions. If, under these circumstances, several evaluators come to different conclusions about a research proposal or a pilot social program, on what basis can the administrator make his decision? He can hardly be expected to resolve any technical dispute between the experts who are his advisors. After discussing the various functions of the evaluation process, and analyzing some of the factors that may lead to such lack of consensus amongst experts, the paper recommends that if the administrator is concerned solely with making a rationally defensible decision, then he should select his evaluating panel so that all members share the same theoretical orientation.