On one hand, we say we honor evaluation, that we are eager for evidence and data. On the other hand, most reported practice is far from enthusiastic about metrics.  Today’s economic climate has increased accountability in organizations and required training and performance professionals to look in a data-driven way at their influence. At the same time, technology-delivered training, learning management systems and a host of tools has increased possibilities for data collection.  Are organizations using these tools?  And if so, to what ends?

This session will tour evaluation promises, practices and barriers and provide an opportunity for participants to examine their efforts in light of the possibilities. How do you compare to the reported efforts of our respondents? How can we all do better?

Dr. James Marshall is a faculty member in the Department of Educational Technology at San Diego State University and an independent consultant to corporate business entities and school systems. He teaches graduate-level courses in instructional design, organizational performance, and evaluation. His large-scale research studies for federal and state government agencies have evaluated over $20M in funded projects. His client list includes Bank of America, Anheuser Busch, Court TV, McGraw Hill Companies, The Princeton Review, The Transportation Security Administration, TIAA-CREF, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. Department of Education.