Abstract
Although the general conceptual basis appeared far earlier, theory-driven evaluation came to
prominence only a few decades ago with the appearance of Chen’s 1990 book Theory-Driven
Evaluations. Since that time, the approach has attracted many supporters as well as detractors. In
this paper, 45 cases of theory-driven evaluations, published over a twenty-year period, are
systematically examined to ascertain how closely theory-driven evaluation practices comport
with the key tenants of theory-driven evaluation as described and prescribed by prominent
theoretical writers. Evidence derived from this review to repudiate or substantiate many of the
claims put forth both by critics of and advocates for theory-driven forms of evaluation are
presented and an agenda for future research on the approach is recommended.