Directors of 39 projects funded by the federal Consumers' Education Program were interviewed about their attitudes toward federally mandated evaluation. The projects were varied, and included activities such as consumer workshops; development of curriculum, materials or policy; inservice training; consumer advocacy/counseling; and television programming. Funding averaged $57,410. Most directors felt that federal officials were more concerned with audit data (expenditures, number of people served, attainment of objectives), than with program improvement. Only six directors felt that assessment of objectives was the primary purpose of evaluation; most emphasized program improvement and formative evaluation as the perceived purpose. Furthermore, the type of evaluation directors actually implemented reflected that purpose. Directors had a common problem--an inability to determine whether participants, be they teachers or citizens, used project information. Administrators also shared a need for reports of similar projects and for sample questionnaires written for people with limited research experience. (CP)