21Focus MEASURING IMPACT Why evaluations fail: To achieve meaningful results, address these common challenges. By Joellen Killion In schools and school systems, educators who lead, facilitate, manage, and advocate professional learning as a primary means for improving educators’ professional practice and student results struggle to find practical, meaningful, cost-effective, and timely means to evaluate this crucial work. Evaluation of professional learning is challenging work primarily for three reasons: clarity of outcomes, clarity of the evaluation’s purpose, and appropriate methodology and design. This article explores these challenges and recommends ways to avoid them.   Where do you want to get to? Effective professional learning begins with a clear destination in mind. By Thomas R. Guskey Educators often shy away from evaluating professional learning experiences because they