Program Evaluation Paper

This program evaluation article by Duffy, Barry, Curry, Darragh, and Lees, reviews an initiative to improve the working relationship between Northern Ireland’s adult mental health services, and child protection services by reviewing a program called “The Champions Initiative” (Duffy, Barry, Darragh, & Lees, 2010). This was developed to facilitate a joint working environment to improve services and protection for children whose parent(s) may have mental health issues (Duffy et al., 2010). The Champions Initiative appointed a “champion” from each team of child protection workers, and mental health services, and their responsibility was to provide information, promote a joint working environment, and identify obstacles which would hinder good cooperation between the two teams (Duffy et al., 2010). The program evaluation assessed the levels of experience, training, confidence and awareness of the Champions, followed up with them in six months to assess the impact and the effectiveness of the program, and offered recommendations to

DKI’s strategic plan includes a campaign to decrease the high school drop out rate in the Denver community called the 2020 Vision and Strategic Plan. Working under the assumption that a student that drops out of high school is twice as likely to experience poverty, DKI hopes to

A high school diploma should be a very important accomplishment to our life. More of the poorest neighborhood have the lowest amount of graduation from high school and the majority is African American and Latinos young men that likely drop out school when they are struggling with the lowest grade and feel that they couldn't make it and the result of this is no getting a diploma. In the article “Stop Holding Us Back” by Robert Balfanz. He refers how like more of one-third of African American and Latinos don’t graduate. These problems must have to be fixed creating programs that capture their attention, assigning mentors to help student with his personal problems and creating special tutoring for the students.

According to Mertens and Wilson, program evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to answer questions about projects, policies and programs, particularly about their effectiveness and efficiency. Stakeholders often want to know whether the programs they are funding and supporting are effective. While program evaluation first focuses on the effectiveness of the program, other important factors to take into consideration is cost of the program, improvements that could be made, outcomes of the program, and usefulness of the program. Evaluators help to answer these questions, and stakeholders have to work with the evaluators in order to come to the best conclusion about the effectiveness of a program so that all aspects are taken into consideration. Program evaluations can involve both quantitative and qualitative methods of research. People who do program evaluation come from many different backgrounds, such as sociology, psychology, economics, social work, and public policy. Some graduate schools also have specific training programs for program evaluation.

Dave Koch became Executive Director of Inter-Faith Food Shuttle less than two years ago. Since he joining the organization Koch has promoted Performance Management and Sustainability Strategies. Utilizing skills learned in his Masters of Public Administration program and gained through educational and for-profit organizations, he is positioning IFFS to be a leader in nonprofit management practices. In our conversation with Koch, he shared that program evaluations are performed infrequently and when they are performed, focus on outputs more than outcomes.

Half of students entering high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District do not graduate. (Institute of the Education Sciences, 2012) Only about ten percent of those students seek or are offered Continuation/adult School to finalize their studies and receive a GED. (Afolayan, 1991) The population of students that will be addressed are those students who were held back to remediate the year and catch up with the rest of their peers. Based on my findings many factors must be considered in order to retain a student from advancing to the next grade. It’s a delicate matter that is only now starting to see local policies in effect that determines who gets retained and under what circumstances. While much of the research only addresses those variables that can be manipulated one must not forget the economic backgrounds these children come from and how that in part affects their overall success in schooling. Societal influences also play a part but policy and reform in the current system should allow leveling the playing field for a more just system. State legislature has been the one left with the task of setting up the procedure for at risk students. The policy on retention in grade school originates from the 1930s. There was a trend up to the 1970s to award social promotion to those students teachers felt would catch up and keep up with their peers the following school year during the summer. Around the eighties there was an urgent need to address the

Nevertheless, the evaluators often discover that these thoughts may need explicitly, therefore, the ideas are tried, and the evaluation to test the robustness of the theory behind the program. By utilizing and seeking to estimate statistical relationships between the characteristics of the participants, the service received, and the immediate and long-term outcome achieved from such prevention and educating the staff and student body of the services being offered. Furthermore, ensure the victims that the program is there to help under such

H. Stanley Judd once quoted, “A good plan is like a road map: it shows the destination and usually the best way to get there.” Since evaluation is judge on the uses of its findings it is important to know where to start and where to end. The goal is to help the readers understand how evaluation is judge, how to utilize the findings and the lasting impact on those who were part of the evaluation.

This past year, Mountain Home Junior High reinvented their after-school program. Throughout the year, several students in the program dropped out, and by the end of the school year, only ten students were being served. The ineffectiveness of the program, in my opinion, was due to a weak initiation phase before the program was implemented. A small committee was formed to write a grant from the program, set the program goals. There were no teachers, teacher leaders, or counselors on the committee and no input from community members or parents were considered. The curriculum for the program centered only on addressing benchmark scores of basic and below basic students and did not meet any other needs or the students. As a counselor, I heard complaints from parents throughout the year that their children would benefit more from having homework help and extended instruction. Teachers felt as if they were already using instruction time during the regular school day to prepare students for the last year’s PARCC and now the ACT Aspire exams.

North Panola High School (NPHS) serves as a perfect model for improvement within its’ academic learning communities. Change oftentimes occurs in deliberate fashion, yet offers insight into the meticulous attention that must be given to achieve change. NPHS has traditionally struggled academically until recently. As recently as the 2009-2010 (SY), the school was on the state’s radar and labeled as “At Risk of Failing”. The graduation rate was 49.1% during this same time. In addition, students were enrolling in post-secondary institutions at a rate around 30%. Of those enrolling, 15 to 20% were actually completing the post-secondary education. The enrollment data of students in post-secondary education and completion data is compiled from the researcher and counseling staff charting students’ completion until the summer of 2015.

The program evaluation begins with the program design to assess overall effectiveness and efficiency of implementation of the program (Calley, 2011). To illustrate the program evaluation, a theoretical framework has been developed using Calley’s Comprehensive Program Development Model’s for the proposed program, using the three major evaluations: fidelity assessment, process evaluation, outcomes evaluation.

The purpose of our evaluation is to assess if the girls who participate in the GRL program, apply the skills and knowledge they acquire upon completion of the program. To answer this question, we will use a pre-experimental research design consisting of pre-test and post-test surveys, as well as a post-test focus group for more in depth narratives. The purpose of the pre-test and the post-test is to ascertain the types of behaviors and habits the girls have prior to their participation in the GRL program and see how these change after the 16-week program.

In April 2015, nine women graduated from the Women on the Move (WOTM) leadership program. This graduation marks the fifth group of graduates to complete the WOTM leadership program.

Diversity and Global Development, EL 7095, challenged me to complete a research project based on diversity and global development within the school setting. Using prior research in EL 7156 Comprehensive Planning and Program Evaluation, facilitated by Dr. Kelley Probst, I continued my research of the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) as a school reform model. AVID is currently being used in the middle schools and high school of Asheboro City Schools. After an interview with former superintendent, Dr. Diane Frost, I became even more interested in the reform model. Under Dr. Frost’s leadership, the AVID program was introduced in the 2007-2008 school year to a select seventh-grade cohort. The program proved to be an effective option and assisted the district in their goal to close the achievement gap of minority and economically disadvantaged students. After hearing Dr. Frost’s passion and confidence in the program, I realized the program must have some merit. I completed a small literature and data review of published materials focusing on the AVID program. Through my research, I became intrigued by the lack of negative reviews. Most research on AVID is positive.

The process of undergoing an evaluation can, for example, build shared meaning and understanding, support and enhance the program (by building evaluation-based data collection and analysis into the program design); and/or support human and organizational development by training staff in new skills. A well thought-out evaluation will provide benefits no matter what the results are. By the simple virtue of being well thought- out, the evaluation will provide program staff an opportunity to learn, and to teach.