Step

Summary

1. Describe Program

Descriptions convey the mission and objectives of the instructional activity, innovation or program and include information about its purpose, expected effects, available resources, program stage of development, and instructional context.

2. Determine Stakeholder Needs

Stakeholders are the individuals and organizations involved in program operations, those served or affected by the program, and the intended users of the assessment or evaluation. Stakeholder needs generally reflect the central questions the stakeholders have about the instructional activity, innovation or program.

3. Determine Evaluation Purpose

Identifying a clear purpose helps determine how the evaluation or assessment should be conducted. Three general purposes for instructional evaluations and assessments are to gain insight, change practices, and/or measure effects.

4. Identify Intended Uses

Intended uses are the specific ways assessment or evaluation results will be applied. They are the underlying goals of the assessment or evaluation and are linked to the central questions of the study that identify the specific aspects of the instructional activity, innovation or program to be examined.

5. Create Evaluation Plan

The evaluation plan is a detailed description of how the assessment or evaluation will be implemented that includes identification of the resources available for implementing the plan, what information is to be gathered, the research method(s) to be used, a description of the roles and responsibilities of sponsors and evaluators, and a timeline for accomplishing tasks.

6. Gather Data

Data gathering focuses on information acquisition and includes consideration about what indicators, data sources and methods to use, the quality and quantity of the information, human subjects protections, and the context in which the data gathering occurs.

7. Analyze Data

Data analysis involves identifying patterns in the data and making decisions about how to organize, classify, interrelate, compare, and display information.

8. Make Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusions are linked to the evidence gathered and judged against agreed-upon standards. Recommendations are actions for consideration that are based on conclusions but go beyond simple judgments about efficacy.

9. Disseminate Results

Result Dissemination communicates the procedures and lessons learned from an assessment or evaluation to relevant audiences in a timely, impartial, and consistent fashion. It may include the reporting of interim findings and active follow-up.