The orientation of this report is that of identifying educational projects which can be considered truly exemplary. The bulk of the report consists of a 23-step procedure for validating the effectiveness of educational programs using existing evaluation data. It is not intended as a guide for conducting evaluations but rather for interpreting data assembled by others using a wide variety of experimental and quasi-experimental designs. As such, its coverage is not restricted to "good" designs. It encompasses all of the commonly employed evaluation models. The report is concerned with deficiencies and hazards of various designs with emphasis on the weaker ones which, as it happens, are also the most feasible in real-world settings, the least costly, and the most commonly used. The appendixes contain project selection criteria worksheets, information regarding norm-referenced versus criterion-referenced tests, estimation of treatment effect from the performance of an initially superior comparison group, effects of noncomparable testing dates on experimental group versus norm group comparisons, and problems using grade-equivalent scores in evaluating educational gains. Changes from the original version include the removal of material which dealt with project selection criteria unrelated to cognitive achievement benefits. (Author/RC)