Data collected during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA) field experiment are used to evaluate the performance of several shortwave and longwave codes that are commonly employed as atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) parameterizations. Several aspects of the models, such as the radiative transfer scheme, the surface albedo characterization, and the parameterized cloud and aerosol optical properties, are examined. Broadband and spectral radiative fluxes observed at two surface locations and retrieved at the top of the atmosphere are used to evaluate the codes under a variety of cases, including several clear sky cases, one liquid cloud case and one ice cloud case. The sensitivity of the simulated fluxes to systematic variations in the input of observed meteorological information, as well as cloud and aerosol properties, surface albedo, and precipitable water vapor is explored.