This study investigated the utility of Title I evaluation, and in particular, the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System (TIERS). To examine utility, instances of evaluation use in state (SEA) and local education agencies (LEA) were identified, and the factors associated with that use were studied. Title I evaluation was used by SEAs to: insure local compliance with state and federal requirements; assist in recognition of problems that required programmatic intervention at the local level; provide a basis for recommending solutions to those problems; and act as input to educational decisions under consideration at the state level. At the LEA level, Title I evaluation data were used by a variety of personnel--including school boards and other external agencies, district administrative staffs, school principals, and individual school personnel to: modify attitudes; recognize or identify problems; prompt administrative or organizational action; and induce curricular or instructional change. The factors most responsible for the use of evaluation information were: the reputation of the evaluator; the evaluator's commitment to evaluation use; the interest of decisionmakers and the community; the extent to which the evaluation focuses on local needs; the degree to which evaluation is presented in graphic, non-technical form; and the development of procedures that assist decisionmakers to use evaluation information. (Author/BW)