In 1989 the Department of Education contracted with Development Associates, Inc., to conduct a review of the evaluation and improvement practices of projects funded under Title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, often known as the Bilingual Education Act. The study focused on local transitional bilingual education and special alternative projects and was designed to describe and assess local evaluation practices and the use of evaluation results. This paper summarizes some of the highlights of the findings and conclusions of the study. Three major activities were conducted: (1) a file review of the applications and evaluation reports of a stratified random sample of 200 Title VII projects funded in fiscal year 1989; (2) a mail survey of all project directors and evaluators of 655 projects funded in that year; and (3) case studies of evaluation systems of 18 local projects. Findings indicate that the purposes and audiences for Title VII evaluations have not been clearly articulated by the U.S. Department of Education, and that there has also been no clear description of how the evaluation needs of the department and local projects should be integrated or prioritized. It was also found that evaluation reports are integrated or prioritized has not been made clear. Evaluation reports are not being used systematically, and, in general, their quality is only poor to adequate. It is concluded that there is an inherent tension between evaluation that is primarily conducted for a federal sponsor and that which is conducted for a local project. Two tables summarize evaluation purposes and needs. (SLD)