This guide is designed to help administrators, program coordinators, and teachers of bilingual children devise more effective ways of helping children learn. The role of evaluation in program planning and execution is described and some general factors to be considered when planning and evaluating bilingual education programs are reviewed. The roles of formative and summative evaluation are discussed as feedback for pupils, teachers, and program administrators. Aspects of standardized tests are explained and features of good program objectives are presented. Eight general categories of language skills encompassed by bilingual programs are illustrated in a bilingual language skills matrix. Linguistic competence and linguistic performance are differentiated and it is shown that only linguistic performance, that is, the degree of mastery of language skills as demonstrated or assessed in the classroom, can be assessed with confidence in school settings. The various roles of testing and evaluation are described in the broader contexts of bilingual program planning. A selected bibliography is appended. (Author/AMH)