Evaluation theories are models for evaluation practice. They are intended to guide practice rather than explain phenomenon and they are prescriptions for the ideal. Such theories address the focus and role of evaluation, specific questions to be studied, design and implementation, and use of results. Although its origins can be traced to Ralph Tyler in the 1930s, later reappearing in the 1960s and 1970s, and again in the 1980s, it was not until 1990 that theory-driven evaluation resonated more widely in the evaluation community with the publication of Huey Chen’s book Theory-Driven Evaluations. Since then, conceptual and theoretical writings on the approach have been commonplace. Nonetheless, the degree to which theory-driven evaluation practice adheres to and exemplifies the central principles of the approach as described and prescribed by prominent theoretical writers is disputable. In this study, the authors examined whether theoretical prescriptions and real-world practices do or do not align.#2009Conference #theory-driven-evaluation #ResearchonEvaluation #Evaluation2009 #ProgramTheoryandTheoryDrivenEvaluation #research-on-evaluation #TheoriesofEvaluation