The role of the professional evaluator within a school district is essentially to provide data for use in informed decision making. In School District 4J in Eugene, Oregon, this role involves performing tasks in three basic categories: (1) maintaining and interpreting ongoing databases, (2) finding and analyzing information to answer specific administrative questions, and (3) assisting with the district's cycle of program evaluation. The ongoing databases, distinct from the district's mainframe computer records, provide information for enrollment projection, high school subject area enrollment trends, and longitudinal analysis of standardized test results. Requests for special-purpose information can lead to quick responses or require major reports. Typical requests have sought information on the potential impact of changes in graduation requirements, on predictors of the tendency to drop out of school, on the effects of an open enrollment policy, and on space utilization in an elementary school. The district's subject area programs are evaluated every 6 years, with the evaluator assisting in evaluation design and gathering and summarizing information for the subject area council. As purveyors of data, the evaluators collaborate with other educators in the evaluation process, promoting cooperative and productive decision making. (PGD)