From Perpetuation to Disruption of Disadvantages: Learning from a Young Ray Rist and Implications for the Future of the Field of Evaluation

Abstract

Background: Given the amplification of vulnerabilities created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for evaluation to more intentionally explore the intended and unintended consequences of interventions in contemporary society has increased. In this paper, we analyze one of Ray Rist's earliest papers, "Student Social Class and Teacher Expectations: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Ghetto Education" to explore whether it has lessons for contemporary evaluators 

Purpose: This paper seeks to learn lessons for evaluation (in identifying themes important to addressing inequities) from a seminal paper published more than 50 years ago. We explore lessons that research study conducted in a classroom in the USA might have for contemporary evaluators.

Setting: Not applicable.

Intervention: Not applicable.

Research Design: Not applicable.

Data Collection and Analysis: This paper analyzes key themes from Rist's seminal paper and leverages our experience as evaluators working in multiple settings to assess the implication of his paper to contemporary evaluations. The analysis is informed by a realist lens that recognizes the importance of contexts and mechanisms in the generation of outcomes.

Findings: The following four implications of Rist's ideas are discussed: (1) the need to pay close attention to the architecture of interventions; (ii) explore how the implementation of some interventions can lead to exclusion of individuals; (iii) evaluation as a field needs to move from verdicts to explanations; (iv) evaluators need to pay attention to the dynamics of mutually reinforcing processes that exacerbate disadvantages over time.