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For this assignment, students are asked to design a small evaluation plan, integrating what they have learned throughout the semester, in response to a specific case scenario provided. For example, students have learned that there are many ways to sample a population – random, snowball, etc. And, that there are many ways to collect data [focus groups, interviews, surveys, etc.] In this assignment, students are expected to apply the concepts and knowledge acquired to date to the specific prompt provided, describing what they would do and why [i.e. provide clear rationales] – who would be sampled and why; what kinds of data would be collected or used and why; how many people would be sampled and why; what measures would be used and why; would pre-collected data be used or prospective data be used [or both], and why; at what time points would data be collected and why, and so on.
Consider that you’re a newly hired school social worker [with some background in program evaluation] at a school site that has programming for high schoolers and their parents and teachers. You work in the Parent, Teacher and Youth Mediation Program, intended to reduce conflict and enhance communication between parents and teenagers.
Since beginning the program 4 years ago, the Parent, Teacher, and Youth Mediation Program has helped families find ways to connect and build better communication skills during students’ formative teenage years. Each school year, the Parent, Teacher, and Youth Mediation Program serves a total of 250 clients [150 parents and 100 youth]. Enrollment takes place on a rolling basis; families are either self-referred or referred by the school social worker or teachers. When referred, it seems like the primary expected change through participation, is that the parent-child relationship will improve. Secondarily, it seems like when families or teachers refer families, they hope that participation results in other positive changes for the youth at school.
Once referred, a 60-minute initial intake is completed with the school social worker where introductory information is collected including demographics and a short assessment [Child-Parent Relationship Scale – CPRS]. The Parent, Teacher and Youth Mediation Program takes place over the course of 9 weeks. Once a week, the social worker and teacher co-facilitate a 1-hour session with the student and their parent[s].
To date, the program has used the Child-Parent Relationship Scale [CPRS] to examine change, administered at the beginning and end of the program with individual families. Because the teachers are involved in the sessions, you learn that there is a Student Teacher Relationship Scale [STRS] available to use at the school, but it doesn’t seem like it’s been regularly administered to date. [As you are building your evaluation plan, please note that you can choose to draw on measures that the program uses, but should not limit yourself to them.]
As the newly hired social worker, you have been tasked with designing a small information system/evaluation plan that will ultimately be used to fulfill the Parent, Teacher and Youth Mediation Program’s evaluation needs at the program level.
There is an outline provided below. Please use the outline to structure your paper, using appropriate subheadings. Please be sure to answer all the questions in narrative form [not bullet points], paying extra attention to information you provide in response to the data collection and sampling. [That is, while you are expected to respond to all components of the outline, the most critical and detailed information is required in the subsection on data collection and sampling.] You can and should use subheadings, tables, etc., as appropriate.
Tips
Throughout this class we have learning about data collecting processes, this is an opportunity to apply that knowledge to build an evaluation plan.
Think about all the different kinds of data you need to collect including, but not limited to the scales mentioned above, to fulfill evaluation needs, i.e.: how will the data be used to answer the evaluation questions?
While we have provided you with two measures, think about other measures that may fit with your chosen evaluation plan. Consider the kind of information that might be collected at a school by teachers, social workers, administration, etc. How might this be useful to your evaluation plan?
The textbook provides rich information [especially in Chapters 19-20, with additional information in Chapters 15-18] about the various types of data necessary for practice and program level evaluations.
Make sure you clarify what type of evaluation you are proposing and why you believe this is a good fit.
Additional Resources:
Developing an Effective Evaluation Plan. Atlanta, Georgia: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, 2011. [Links to an external site.]
DTBE | Program Evaluation Guide | A Sample Evaluation Plan – CDC [Links to an external site.]
NIJ Plan for Program Evaluation from the Start [Links to an external site.]
American Evaluation Association Resources [Links to an external site.] [click publications on the top right corner]
Written Evaluation Plan Detailed Outline:
- About the Program [2 points]
Provide a brief description of the specific program to be addressed by this evaluation proposal. [Note: program evaluations always begin with a program description so for this sub-component alone, you are being asked to simply interpret and re-state the program description in your own words. No need to embellish the program description.]
Provide a description of the target recipients of the program to be evaluated.
- Evaluation Questions [4 points]
Based on the prompt, what type of evaluation are you proposing, and why?
What specific evaluation questions are you seeking to answer from the data collection?
- Data Collection and Sampling [22 points]
What data will be aggregated at the program level, and why? Be sure to clearly specify what kinds of data will be collected, and whether each is primary or secondary data.
Who will you collect data from, and why?
How will your participants be sampled, and why?
How often will the data be collected, and why?
What are the measures be administered or questions to be asked? What other kinds of information might you collect, and why?
Who will collect these data?
How will the system you describe help to answer the specific evaluation questions identified in the section above?
Discuss any limitations to this data collection plan.
Think about the feasibility of this plan. [e.g. how often are you collecting data? Is this realistic? Is it reasonable for clients to engage at the level your data collection plan requires?]
- Ethical Considerations [4 points]
Briefly explain how you will protect the rights of participants [e.g., ethical issues of informed consent, voluntary participation, protection of sensitive data].
- Dissemination & Utilization [4 points]
How might these evaluation findings be utilized? Think about how it can be applied to both the:
Practice level
Program level
Identify the specific stakeholders or stakeholder groups that will be provided results from this evaluation.
Additional Scoring Criteria [4 points]
Your assignment will also be evaluated on writing style, clarity, use of sources, etc. Up to 4 points will be awarded
Up to 1 point for sources
Up to 1 point for organization and flow
Up to 2 points for quality, which includes grammar, spelling, and APA formatting.
Expected Length
6-8 double-spaced pages, including references [double-spaced, 12 size Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, APA formatting]. Cover sheets [per the syllabus] do not count towards the page length. An abstract is not required and should not be included.
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/downloads/cdc-evaluation-workbook-508.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/tb/programs/Evaluation/Guide/docs/a_sample_plan.doc
https://www.nij.gov/journals/275/pages/plan-for-program-evaluation.aspx
https://www.eval.org/[click publications on the top right corner]
