Expanding Outcomes in Educational Program Evaluation

Expanding Outcomes in Educational Program Evaluation
Author: Heidi Lauren Holmes
Publisher:
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2019
Genre: Charter schools
ISBN:

Education policy debates over the last twenty years have focused on the need to increase students' test scores. The federal government and states have implemented and expanded a variety of test-based, school accountability policies. Accountability pressures have incentivized schools to narrow their curriculum, decrease time allocated to extracurricular activities, and focus on short-term student outcomes. This dissertation focuses on expanding outcomes in educational program evaluations and demonstrates the value of looking beyond the goal of increasing student test scores. The first chapter, using random assignment, estimates the causal effects of culturally enriching field trips on various student outcomes. Such field trips have been declining in part due to accountability pressures. We find evidence that such field trips can actually have a positive impact on student achievement as well as school engagement. The second chapter focuses on post-secondary outcomes for students. Also using an experimental design, we evaluate the impact of the Louisiana Scholarship Program on the likelihood of students entering college. Despite the program negatively affecting student test scores, we find that the program had no significant effect on the likelihood that students enter college. Finally, the third chapter takes a broader approach and evaluates systemic effects created by charter schools. Using nationwide data, I analyze the extent to which charter schools crowd out private schools in the market. I find evidence that charter and private schools compete for student enrollment, and as charter schools remain in the market, the quantity of private schools decreases.

Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation

Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation
Author: Kathryn E. Newcomer
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 912
Release: 2015-08-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1118893611

The leading program evaluation reference, updated with the latest tools and techniques The Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation provides tools for managers and evaluators to address questions about the performance of public and nonprofit programs. Neatly integrating authoritative, high-level information with practicality and readability, this guide gives you the tools and processes you need to analyze your program's operations and outcomes more accurately. This new fourth edition has been thoroughly updated and revised, with new coverage of the latest evaluation methods, including: Culturally responsive evaluation Adopting designs and tools to evaluate multi-service community change programs Using role playing to collect data Using cognitive interviewing to pre-test surveys Coding qualitative data You'll discover robust analysis methods that produce a more accurate picture of program results, and learn how to trace causality back to the source to see how much of the outcome can be directly attributed to the program. Written by award-winning experts at the top of the field, this book also contains contributions from the leading evaluation authorities among academics and practitioners to provide the most comprehensive, up-to-date reference on the topic. Valid and reliable data constitute the bedrock of accurate analysis, and since funding relies more heavily on program analysis than ever before, you cannot afford to rely on weak or outdated methods. This book gives you expert insight and leading edge tools that help you paint a more accurate picture of your program's processes and results, including: Obtaining valid, reliable, and credible performance data Engaging and working with stakeholders to design valuable evaluations and performance monitoring systems Assessing program outcomes and tracing desired outcomes to program activities Providing robust analyses of both quantitative and qualitative data Governmental bodies, foundations, individual donors, and other funding bodies are increasingly demanding information on the use of program funds and program results. The Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation shows you how to collect and present valid and reliable data about programs.

Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation

Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation
Author: Kathryn E. Newcomer
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2015-08-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1118893697

The leading program evaluation reference, updated with the latest tools and techniques The Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation provides tools for managers and evaluators to address questions about the performance of public and nonprofit programs. Neatly integrating authoritative, high-level information with practicality and readability, this guide gives you the tools and processes you need to analyze your program's operations and outcomes more accurately. This new fourth edition has been thoroughly updated and revised, with new coverage of the latest evaluation methods, including: Culturally responsive evaluation Adopting designs and tools to evaluate multi-service community change programs Using role playing to collect data Using cognitive interviewing to pre-test surveys Coding qualitative data You'll discover robust analysis methods that produce a more accurate picture of program results, and learn how to trace causality back to the source to see how much of the outcome can be directly attributed to the program. Written by award-winning experts at the top of the field, this book also contains contributions from the leading evaluation authorities among academics and practitioners to provide the most comprehensive, up-to-date reference on the topic. Valid and reliable data constitute the bedrock of accurate analysis, and since funding relies more heavily on program analysis than ever before, you cannot afford to rely on weak or outdated methods. This book gives you expert insight and leading edge tools that help you paint a more accurate picture of your program's processes and results, including: Obtaining valid, reliable, and credible performance data Engaging and working with stakeholders to design valuable evaluations and performance monitoring systems Assessing program outcomes and tracing desired outcomes to program activities Providing robust analyses of both quantitative and qualitative data Governmental bodies, foundations, individual donors, and other funding bodies are increasingly demanding information on the use of program funds and program results. The Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation shows you how to collect and present valid and reliable data about programs.

Program Evaluation in Practice

Program Evaluation in Practice
Author: Dean T. Spaulding
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 173
Release: 2016-12-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1118450205

An updated guide to the core concepts of program evaluation This updated edition of Program Evaluation in Practice covers the core concepts of program evaluation and uses case studies to touch on real-world issues that arise when conducting an evaluation project. This important resource is filled with illustrative examples written in accessible terms and provides a wide variety of evaluation projects that can be used for discussion, analysis, and reflection. The book addresses foundations and theories of evaluation, tools and methods for collecting data, writing of reports, and the sharing of findings. The discussion questions and class activities at the end of each chapter are designed to help process the information in that chapter and to integrate the information from the other chapters, thus facilitating the learning process. As useful for students as it is for evaluators in training, Program Evaluation in Practice is a must-have text for those aspiring to be effective evaluators. Includes expanded discussion of basic theories and approaches to program evaluation Features a new chapter on objective-based evaluation and a new section on ethics in program evaluation Provides more detailed information and in-depth description for each case, including evaluation approaches, fresh references, new readings, and the new Joint Committee Standards for Evaluation

Reevaluating Evaluation

Reevaluating Evaluation
Author: Laura M. Desimone
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2018-12-07
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135066000

In the context of the evolution of education program evaluation and the current emphasis on scientific precision, this special issue presents several of the challenges to program evaluation that scholars are facing today. In addition, it shares recent insights and experiences that will contribute to continued improvement of program evaluation and responds to the call for more exactness without losing sight of the lessons learned from evaluation over the past several decades. The eight papers address five main areas: evaluation design, instrumentation, implementation, politics, and analysis. As a whole, this issue is designed shed light on the five issues, as well as provide information useful for those interested in increasing the rigor of education research to increase the ability to improve schools.

Measuring What We Do in Schools

Measuring What We Do in Schools
Author: Victoria L. Bernhardt
Publisher: ASCD
Total Pages: 150
Release: 2017-06-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1416623981

What is a true learning organization, and how can your school become one? To excel, schools must embrace continuous school improvement and evaluation, as well as systems thinking. In Measuring What We Do in Schools, author Victoria L. Bernhardt details the critical role program evaluation serves in school success and how to implement meaningful evaluations that make a difference. She provides a roadmap of how to conduct comprehensive, systemwide evaluations of programs and processes; the tools needed to obtain usable, pertinent information; and how to use these data to expand teachers’ and administrators’ data-informed decision-making focus. Educators will learn how to Assess what is working and not working for students Determine which processes need to change Use data to improve practices on an ongoing basis Although challenging for many schools, program evaluation and data analysis can begin with a single program or process, over time building on the expanded knowledge of the school’s processes and the results they produce. An effective tool—The Program Evaluation Tool—enables schools to easily identify the purpose and intended outcomes of any school program, along with whom it serves, and how it should be implemented, monitored, and evaluated. These data can then be used to improve every aspect of a school’s programs and processes and the outcomes achieved. Filled with practical strategies and featuring an in-depth case study, this book is designed to help educators see that evaluation work is logical and easy to do. They’ll gain the confidence to do this work on a regular basis—working together to become a true learning organization.

Advancing Evidence-Based Practice Through Program Evaluation

Advancing Evidence-Based Practice Through Program Evaluation
Author: Julie Q. Morrison
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2018-02-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0190609125

Given the current climate of results-driven accountability, school-based professionals have a significant contribution to make in improving the impact of programs and initiatives through the application of program evaluation methods and tools to inform decision making within a multi-tier system of supports framework. And yet there is currently a dearth of practical resources dedicated to developing school psychologists' competencies in program evaluation. Advancing Evidence-Based Practice through Program Evaluation will meet the needs of school psychologists and other school-based professionals seeking to use program evaluation approaches to enhance data-based decision making and accountability at a program and systems-level. This practical guide provides the most cutting-edge evaluation frameworks, methods, and tools available, with particular emphasis on the rapidly-developing areas of implementation research, evidence-based professional learning, and innovative approaches to communicating evaluation findings. The book will support school professionals in daily practice by enhancing and extending their knowledge and skills in measurement, assessment, consultation for systems change and the use of evidence-based interventions for academic and social/behavioral concerns, with a focus on evaluating the implementation and outcomes of school-based programs. The book will also facilitate the professional development of those currently engaged in graduate preparation programs in education, educational leadership, school counseling, and school social work, as well as the university faculty who guide their professional preparation. Finally, school professionals may also use Advancing Evidence-Based Practice through Program Evaluation to develop their professional competencies in implementing new initiatives funded by grants with clear expectations for program evaluation.

Evaluating Professional Development

Evaluating Professional Development
Author: Thomas R. Guskey
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2000
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780761975618

Explains how to better evaluate professional development in order to ensure that it increases student learning, providing questions for accurate measurement of professional development and showing how to demonstrate results and accountability.

Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 8)

Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 8)
Author: Donald A. P. Bundy
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 977
Release: 2017-11-20
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1464804397

More children born today will survive to adulthood than at any time in history. It is now time to emphasize health and development in middle childhood and adolescence--developmental phases that are critical to health in adulthood and the next generation. Child and Adolescent Health and Development explores the benefits that accrue from sustained and targeted interventions across the first two decades of life. The volume outlines the investment case for effective, costed, and scalable interventions for low-resource settings, emphasizing the cross-sectoral role of education. This evidence base can guide policy makers in prioritizing actions to promote survival, health, cognition, and physical growth throughout childhood and adolescence.