You are here

Evaluating Programs to Increase Student Achievement
Share

Evaluating Programs to Increase Student Achievement

Second Edition
Edited by:

Foreword by Cozette Buckney



March 2008 | 208 pages | Corwin

"The author does all the right things: stays on task, stays focused, communicates clearly, gives correct and adequate information that practitioners can understand and implement, and presents the content in a scholarly, yet friendly style that promotes collaborative efforts."
—Marie Kraska, Professor of Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Technology
Auburn University

"Clear, concise, understandable information presented in a positive, upbeat, and respectful manner. I couldn't wait to share this with other team members!"
—Debbie Johnson, Principal
Lunt School, Falmouth, ME

Make informed decisions about programs with this step-by-step evaluation process!

School leaders can strengthen curriculum and help students experience greater achievement when they have an efficient process for evaluating the effectiveness of school programs. This reader-friendly resource presents a substantive overview of key concepts of the program evaluation process and offers practical guidelines to help administrators and faculty plan and carry out thoughtful evaluations.

Designed for new and experienced site-based administrators, this comprehensive second edition provides a wealth of updated information and tools for implementing evaluations, including:

  • An expanded section on needs assessment, complete with new examples
  • Additional methods to analyze data more productively
  • Strategies for using graphs to communicate program results
  • An in-depth discussion of the principal's role in the evaluation process
  • A built-in facilitator's guide and checklist

A successful, ongoing evaluation process can promote a collaborative culture among faculty, improve teachers' sense of accomplishment, and strengthen your school's ability to meet the expectations of students and parents.


 
Foreword by Cozette Buckney
 
Acknowledgments
 
Preface
 
1. Perspectives on Program Evaluation
Overview

 
How Program Evaluation Contributes to School Improvement

 
Benefits of Site-Based Program Evaluation

 
Goals of Program Evaluation

 
Two Evaluation Methods

 
Assessing Program Processes

 
Linking Evaluation With Program Improvement

 
A Concluding Note

 
Chapter Highlights

 
 
2. How Program Evaluation Contributes to a Learning Organization
Overview

 
The Spirit of a Learning Organization

 
The School as a Learning Organization

 
Reflective Practice

 
Linking the Parts of the School Organization for Improved Performance

 
Applying a Systems Approach to Increase Student Achievement

 
A Concluding Note

 
Chapter Highlights

 
 
3. Using Program Evaluation to Improve the Curriculum — A Developmental Approach
Overview

 
Compatible Evaluation Methods

 
The Problem of Confounding

 
Internal Validity

 
Some Further Threats to Internal Validity

 
A Concluding Note

 
Chapter Highlights

 
 
4. An Experimental Approach for Evaluating Programs
Overview

 
Internal Validity—A Review

 
Building Control Into an Experiment

 
Random Assignment

 
Experimental Designs

 
Deciding Whether to Use One or Two Groups in an Evaluation Study

 
External Validity

 
A Concluding Note

 
Chapter Highlights

 
 
5. Program Evaluation Through Collaboration
Overview

 
Why Have an Evaluation Team?

 
Team Composition

 
Factors for Principals to Consider in Establishing the Evaluation Team

 
Forming an Evaluation Team

 
The Team in Operation

 
A Concluding Note

 
Chapter Highlights

 
 
6. Measuring Program Outcomes
Overview

 
Quantitative and Qualitative Data

 
Comprehensive Evaluation

 
Validity and Reliability of Evaluation Data

 
Validity

 
Reliability

 
Perspectives on Authentic Assessment

 
A Concluding Note

 
Chapter Highlights

 
 
7. The Evaluation Process: Phases 1, 2, and 3
Overview

 
Phase 1—Describing the Program

 
Phase 2—Providing Direction for the Evaluation

 
Phase 3—Obtaining Information to Answer Evaluation Questions

 
Chapter Highlights

 
8. The Evaluation Process: Phases 4, 5, and 6

 
Overview

 
Phase 4—Analyzing Data to Assess a Program’s Impact

 
Phase 5—Evaluating the Program’s Effectiveness and Offering Recommendations for Its Future Development

 
Phase 6—Writing the Evaluation Report

 
Chapter Highlights

 
 
9. Writing the Evaluation Report
Overview

 
Format and Content

 
What the Evaluation Report Represents

 
Chapter Highlights

 
 
10. Assessing the Evaluation Project
Overview

 
Purposes of Metaevaluation

 
Formative Metaevaluation

 
Summative Metaevaluation

 
A Concluding Note

 
Chapter Highlights

 
 
11. Revisiting the Principal’s Leadership Role in Program Evaluation
Overview

 
The Multidimensional Responsibilities of the Principal in Program Evaluation

 
Attitudes of Principals Toward Assessing Programs

 
Beyond the Technical

 
Principals’ Self-Assessment

 
A Concluding Note

 
Chapter Highlights

 
 
Appendix. A Mini-Guide for the Evaluation Team Leader
 
References
 
Index

“The book is a comprehensive guide for school leaders, beginning with the role that administrators can take in promoting, supporting, and facilitating the assessment process, through the goals, process, and actual steps needed to review and evaluate programs.”

From the Foreword by Cozette Buckney

"Clear, concise, understandable information presented in a positive, upbeat, and respectful manner. I couldn’t wait to share this with other team members!"

Debbie Johnson, Principal
Lunt School, Falmouth, ME

"The author does all the right things: stays on task, stays focused, communicates clearly, gives correct and adequate information that practitioners can understand and implement, and presents the content in a scholarly and yet friendly style that promotes collaborative efforts."

Marie Kraska, Professor of Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Technology
Auburn University

"The author takes a difficult and formidable subject and makes it user-friendly to the K–12 practitioner."

Judy Brunner, Adjunct Professor
Southwest Missouri State University

Sample Materials & Chapters

Preface

Foreword by Cozette Buckney


For instructors

Select a Purchasing Option


Rent or Buy eBook
ISBN: 9781452293769

Paperback
ISBN: 9781412951258
$41.95

Hardcover
ISBN: 9781412951241
$79.95

This title is also available on SAGE Research Methods, the ultimate digital methods library. If your library doesn’t have access, ask your librarian to start a trial.