This paper is a reaction to the "Standards for Evaluations of Educational Programs, Projects and Materials," focusing on the applicability of these standards. The evaluation of programs almost without exception deals with the evaluation of change of programs, taking the form of comparative studies, and being valued according to how the program resembles or deviates from other programs. The actual foundations for a program evaluation are different on both sides of the Atlantic. A set of standards in America is only partly applicable in Europe. Despite the clear, well thought-out, and systematic structure of these standards, the value of them outside of the United States stands the risk of being limited to becoming mainly of technical nature. Evaluation examples of educational programs (reading comprehension and science education) show how data from a program evaluation can be used in different ways and be interpreted differently according to the different educational political goals. The conclusion of a revision of standards is that these are valuable and should always be aimed at, but that they cannot conceal the diversions in educational political values, which are the great problems in the evaluations. (Author/PN)