Evaluating a CSR Program
Evaluation is the most easily overlooked aspect of any school reform effort. This is partially due to the fact that collection and reporting of data is complicated and, thus, difficult for some people to understand. In addition, it can be hard to find a competent evaluator who understands the reform program and is able to work with the school’s leadership team.
Often, a school will implement a program that promises to improve academic performance, but will then forgo an evaluation that measures whether any progress has been made—and why or why not. Establishing clear benchmarks for success and then systematically measuring progress and making improvements along the way are essential steps in any comprehensive reform effort. Fortunately, many useful resources targeting evaluation are available to schools, and several of them focus specifically on comprehensive reform.
Comprehensive school reform is a long-term process of school improvement that requires a school to evaluate its current practices and policies and then to measure them against clearly defined goals and standards. Once it has been determined which areas need improvement, school leaders can initiate their comprehensive reform plan. But altering current practices and policies is only one part of CSR. A school must be prepared to measure the progress of its reform program closely; and it must determine how the program is affecting key areas such as teaching and learning, governance, school climate, and family involvement. With this evaluative information available, school leaders can make crucial mid-course corrections that will keep their CSR effort on the right track.
Program evaluation also serves a valuable function in that school leaders can use positive data to bolster support and boost morale within the school and the greater community. Since a comprehensive reform effort impacts a school in many areas (not just academic achievement), a variety of indicators can and should be used to measure success. Early in the process, data on such factors as attendance, teacher attrition, and school safety can be used to highlight short-term successes. Other indicators, such as daily student work and weekly tests, can be used to demonstrate student achievement prior to the availability of results from state-mandated tests. Since CSR is a long-term process, any positive information that can be shared with teachers, students, parents, and other important stakeholders will help promote support and enthusiasm for the program.
Evaluation Resources
The following tools and guides targeting evaluation are available to schools and districts. Additional research and related resources can be found in the CSR Resources section of this Web site.
At Your Fingertips: Using Everyday Data to Improve Schools
1998, MPR Associates
This thorough and user-friendly workbook is designed to help school staff use everyday data to improve schools. The guide presents a simple approach to selecting, analyzing, and reporting key information. This workbook is $39.95.Evaluating Whole School Reform Efforts: A Guide for District and School Staff (second edition) 2000, NWREL (Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory)
This practical resource walks educators through the steps involved in planning, designing, and carrying out effective evaluation of CSR programs. The guidebook describes how to plan and prepare for an evaluation; develop evaluation questions; collect, analyze, interpret, and report data; and use findings to make improvements.Evaluating for Success
1999, MCREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning)
This guide for planning, conducting, and reporting on a CSR evaluation is designed to help schools with CSR grants meet the evaluation requirement.Data Use: Data Primer
NCREL (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory)
The Data Primer is an instructional website designed to help educators become more comfortable with thinking about and using data for the purposes of instructional decision making. The Data Primer is organized around four modules. In addition to a focal question that educators can ask when developing school improvement plans, each module contains three sections:
- The "Tutorial" section uses different graphing techniques to show how data put in graphical form increase readability, illuminate patterns, and elicit questions about meaning.
- The "Practice" section lets users apply their own data to the graph type used in the "Tutorial" section.
- The "Going Further" section acts as a bridge between the sample scenario and actual tools, resources, and services that users can access and implement to address more thoroughly some of the questions and issues raised throughout the instructional portion.
