This paper traces the evaluation requirements of the Title I/Chapter 1 Program since 1966 to the present, discusses the implications of the evaluations, and reports on the evolution of evaluation during this 20 year period. The evaluations are described in four phases: (1) from a nadir of low quality, utility and precision (1966-1974); (2) to a transition point (1974-1978); (3) to a point of high quality, utility and technical rigor with the implementation of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (1978-1981); (4) to a relaxation of standards and quality given the revised requirements of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (1981 to the present). Informal agreement among evaluators and program managers indicates that the quality of Chapter I evaluations is on the decline. Evaluation systems must be applied uniformly across the states if comparable data are to be collected and analyzed. At present, Federal agencies are not requiring that uniform data be collected on the 1981 block grants. The availability of an authoritative future source of national information about: (1) the nature of program operations; (2) the levels and types of service available; and (3) the effect of programs on the problems they are intended to address remains in doubt. (PN)