▁process ▁in ▁which ▁repeated ▁measures ▁may ▁be ▁used ▁to ▁evaluate ▁whether ▁the ▁program ▁is ▁being ▁implemented ▁effectively . ▁This ▁problem ▁is ▁particularly ▁critical ▁because ▁many ▁innov ations , ▁particularly ▁in ▁areas ▁like ▁education ▁and ▁public ▁policy , ▁consist ▁of ▁fairly ▁complex ▁ch ains ▁of ▁action . ▁Many ▁of ▁which ▁these ▁elements ▁rely ▁on ▁the ▁prior ▁correct ▁implementation ▁of ▁other ▁elements , ▁and ▁will ▁fail ▁if ▁the ▁prior ▁implementation ▁was ▁not ▁done ▁correctly . ▁This ▁was ▁conclus ively ▁demonstrated ▁by ▁Gene ▁V . ▁G lass ▁and ▁many ▁others ▁during ▁the ▁ 1 9 8 0 s . ▁Since ▁incorrect ▁or ▁in effect ive ▁implementation ▁will ▁produce ▁the ▁same ▁kind ▁of ▁neutral ▁or ▁negative ▁results ▁that ▁would ▁be ▁produced ▁by ▁correct ▁implementation ▁of ▁a ▁poor ▁innov ation , ▁it ▁is ▁essential ▁that ▁evaluation ▁research ▁assess ▁the ▁implementation ▁process ▁itself . ▁Otherwise , ▁a ▁good ▁innov ative ▁idea ▁may ▁be ▁mistaken ly ▁character ized ▁as ▁in effect ive , ▁where ▁in ▁fact ▁it ▁simply ▁had ▁never ▁been ▁implemented ▁as ▁designed . ▁ ▁Ass ess ing ▁the ▁impact ▁( effect iveness ) ▁The ▁impact ▁evaluation ▁determ ines ▁the ▁caus al ▁effects ▁of ▁the ▁program . ▁This ▁involves ▁trying ▁to ▁measure ▁if ▁the ▁program ▁has ▁achieved ▁its ▁intended ▁out comes , ▁i . e . ▁program ▁out comes . ▁ ▁Program ▁Out comes ▁An ▁outcome ▁is ▁the ▁state ▁of ▁the ▁target ▁population ▁or ▁the ▁social ▁conditions ▁that ▁a ▁program ▁is ▁expected ▁to ▁have ▁changed . ▁ ▁Program ▁out comes ▁are ▁the ▁observed ▁characteristics ▁of ▁the ▁target ▁population ▁or