Along with cost, and hence availability of hardware and quality educational courseware, the major barrier to full implementation of microcomputers is the lack of knowledge possessed by researchers and educational practitioners alike regarding the nature of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes a teacher must have to successfully use microcomputers in classroom instruction. In evaluating the success of classroom computer use, the inclination is to pit technology against "regular instruction" and to compare the effects of these alternatives on student achievement. The premature conclusion may be that computer technology offers little incremental benefit. A process analysis would focus on how teachers integrate computer activities into classroom instruction, including the consequences of degrees of integration for outcomes of instruction such as student achievement and motivation. Successful classroom computer use is inherent in teachers' planning, decision making, and evaluation of instruction. The teacher decision-making perspective suggests several dimensions that should be included in the evaluation--goals, curricula, computer-based learning activities, integration, and feedback. Because the proposed definition of successful computer use focuses on preactive, interactive, and evaluative processes rather than products like standardized test scores, a naturalistic and field-based research approach is suggested. Nine references are listed. (LMM)