In this article, Julia So discusses the purpose of program assessment, four common missteps of program assessment and reporting, and how to prevent them. The four common missteps of program assessment and reporting she has observed are: (1) unclear or ambiguous program goals; (2) measurement error of program goals and outcomes; (3) incorrect unit…

Evaluators are becoming increasingly aware that, to provide maximum benefit to the programs they evaluate, they must address the systems within which the programs work. However, evaluation practice is often influenced by beliefs and assumptions that are rooted in an understanding of these systems as stable and predictable. We identify four traps…

Nonprofit organizations are under great pressure to use evaluations to show that their programs "work" and that they are "effective." However, empirical evidence indicates that nonprofits struggle to perform useful evaluations, especially when conducted under accountability pressures. An increasing body of evidence highlights…

This paper reveals a new evaluation model, which enables educational program and project managers to evaluate their programs with a simple and easy to understand approach. The "index of success model" is comprised of five parameters that enable to focus on and evaluate both the implementation and results of an educational program. The…

IT has permeated to the very roots of organizations and has an ever increasingly important role in the achievement of overall corporate objectives and business strategies. This paper presents an approach for evaluating the impact of existing Enterprise Architecture (EA) implementations. The papers answers questions such as: What are the challenges…

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), a unit within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is responsible for advising the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families on increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of programs to improve the economic and social well-being of children and families. In collaboration…

This review of a research institute's evaluation of the national Follow Through program asserts that both the contracting office and the research institute failed to adequately specify the kind of study intended and the functions which it proposed to serve. One of several kinds of evaluation studies might have been undertaken: (1) a research…

This report describes a trial of an evaluation plan for community school programs that was based on the Goal Attainment Scaling system developed by Kiresuk and Sherman. The author briefly discusses the goal attainment scaling process and then examines the advantages and disadvantages of that approach for evaluating community school programs. The…

The establishment of a performance evaluation system at Los Meganos Intermediate School in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District has resulted, at this time, not in a full evaluation system, but instead in a series of guidelines which might be of use to others pursuing similar objectives. (Author)

The question of how close a recreation program approximates the original objective of the programer can only be answered by extensive evaluation. The true value of the total recreation program may be determined by evaluating the benefit of a recreation program to the participant. (JN)

Individual plans for people with intellectual disabilities were evaluated for quality and effectiveness in improving quality of life. Quality was assessed by rating whether goals were relevant, observable, age appropriate, necessary, timetabled, developmental, measurable, realistic, assigned to staff and improving at least one of O'Brien's five…

This document was compiled for the Participative Management Program at St. Louis Community College. It is composed of four parts, each dealing with an aspect of evaluation of objectives. Part 1, An Introduction to Evaluation, discusses the difference between measurement and indication, the three general evaluation types (internal data, surveys,…

This paper addresses a number of problems associated with the evaluation of organizational effectiveness. Questions are raised concerning whether there is such a thing as organizational effectiveness, how stable and accurate are the assessment criteria, how widely the criteria can be applied, how such criteria can be of help in understanding…

Offers recommendations about how to evaluate student activity programs. (JM)

Summarizes ongoing economic impact assessment activities at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for its Measurement and Standards Laboratory Program. Explores designing economic impact studies for integration into assessments of broader programmatic objectives. (SLD)