Evaluation Standards & Guidelines

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Endorsed by the Canadian Evaluation Society and supported by the Ontario Chapter, the two considerations for evaluation ethics and standards guidelines are:

1) CES Guidance for Ethical Evaluation Practice; and

2) Evaluation Standards.

These two documents outline codes of conduct that are to be maintained by all CES members when they conduct evaluations.

Evaluation Ethics Guidance

The Canadian Evaluation Society has published the CES Guidance for Ethical Evaluation Practice. All CES members are expected to adhere to these guidelines, which are current as of 2020. The below is an outline of the contents of CES Guidance for Ethical Evaluation Practice, and evaluators are encouraged to refer to the full document.

I: Overall Orientations of the Ethics Guidance

1. The Ethics Guidance is founded on core professional values that underpin the Standards and Competencies.
2. The Ethics Guidance is to be applied purposefully and thoughtfully to all evaluation activities.
3. The Ethics Guidance asks evaluators to consider all values at play.
4. The Ethics Guidance conveys CES’s expectations about CES members’ professional values and how they endeavour to apply them.

II: Core Values of the Ethics Guidance

1. Rights and well–being of persons and peoples.
2. Truth–seeking, honesty and transparency.
3. Responsibility to stakeholders and society.

III. Relationship of Values to Standards and Competencies

IV. Questions for values–based ethical reflection

V. Acquiring and Maintaining Capacity for Ethical Decision–Making: CES’s Responsibilities

Evaluation Standards Guidelines

All CES-ON members are expected to adhere to the following evaluation standards. These program evaluation standards were developed by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. There are five standards:

  1. Utility
  2. Feasibility
  3. Propriety
  4. Accuracy
  5. Evaluation Accountability

For the detailed standards, click here.

CES is a sponsoring member of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE).  The Joint Committee has produced evaluation standards for Program Evaluation and for Personnel Evaluation, as well as standards for Student Evaluation.

Published in 2011, in 3rd Edition, the book on The Program Evaluation Standards provides a guide to evaluators and as well evaluation users.  It was written by Yarbrough, D. B., Shulha, L. M., Hopson, R. K., and Caruthers, F. A. and the book can be purchased from Sage publications.

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