The Certification of Evaluators: Highlights from a Report Submitted to the Board of Directors of the American Evaluation Association

Abstract

In 1997, the Board of Directors of the American Evaluation Association received a report from a Task Force that examined the potential of certifying evaluators. Key topics in the report are summarized here. These include: a clarification of relevant terms, a review of the status of evaluation as a profession, and a discussion of how other professions certify their practitioners. Future options are discussed. One option, that of maintaining the status quo (i.e., no action in regard to certification), was seen by the Task Force as having serious, long-term consequences for evaluation. A preliminary look is taken at the advantages and disadvantages of developing a process to certify evaluators.