Program Evaluationby: Dr. Daniel L. Agley
Evaluation Types??Evaluation??Evaluation Research??Program Evaluation??“Program” may include any organized actionsuch as media campaigns, service provision,educational services, public policies, researchprojects, etc” [CDC, 1999)
Definition of Evaluation??“Evaluation is the determination of the worth of an educational program, product, procedure or objective, or of the potential utility of alternative approaches in order to attain specific objectives” (McMillian & Schumacher, 1984)
Definition of Evaluation??“Evaluation is the systematic application of scientific methods to assess the design, implementation, improvement, or outcomes of a program” (Rossi & Freeman, 1993)
Evaluation Research??“The systematic application of social research procedures for assessing the conceptualization design, implementation, and utility of social intervention programs” (Rossi & Freeman, 1989)
Program Evaluation??“The object of an evaluation is whatever you are investigating–it can be a program, a project, a three-day in-service, materials, or even another evaluation” (Brinkerhoff, Brethower, Hluchyj, & Nowakowski, 1983)
Program Evaluation??General Purposes of Program Evaluation:?Demonstrate program effectiveness to funders?Improve the implementation and effectiveness of programs?Better manage limited resources
Program Evaluation?Document program accomplishments?Justify current program funding?Support the need for increases levels of funding?Satisfy ethical responsibility to clients to demonstrate positive and negative effects of program participation (Short, Hennessy, & Campbell, 1996)?Document program development and activities to help ensure successful replication
Barriers to Program Evaluation??Funding??Time??Professionals with the right technical skills??Necessitate alliances between historically separate community goups(e.g. academia, advocacy groups, service providers)??Mutual misperceptions regarding the goals and process of…