After several lengthy evaluations of California's Early Childhood Education (ECE) program proved inadequate, unhappy legislators and educators finally found satisfaction in a brief, mimeographed report. Several factors were responsible for the success of this new evaluation, the "Interim Report on the Special Study of Selected ECE Schools with Increasing and Decreasing Reading Scores" (1977), published by the California State Department of Education. A pet project of the state superintendent, ECE had been subjected to nonthreatening evaluation processes only. Evaluation questions had never been clearly spelled out, partly because the interests of legislators and educators required different emphases. The successful evaluation occurred when the state department of education accepted the need for a study aimed at solving real problems, enabling evaluators to focus the interests of legislators and educators alike on one basic evaluation question while maintaining support from all involved parties. The evaluation's case study format permitted legislators to understand the research without extensive technical knowledge. The final report clearly explained the evaluation methodology, clarifying the generalizability and validity of the findings. The report's policy implications were direct and specific and, though aimed at all levels of the educational policy system, were framed so as to avoid organizational resistance. (Author/PGD)