Program Impact

Last year we reported our impact on students by comparing test scores of students who worked with our tutors with those who did not. How can we more fully understand and report on the impact our tutors have?

Our panel agrees: assessment need not cause anxiety in students or tutors. Assessing students at the beginning of the tutoring year and at the end provides a clearer picture of individual progress and programwide impact.

Broadening the scope of assessment to include all participants allows programs to paint a more comprehensive picture. Assessing tutor and parent satisfaction, evaluating the partnership, even seeking public opinion on tutoring programs are possible examples. Think of a special program contribution that you have yet to report. How can you include this in your assessment and evaluation planning?

David suggests "developing end-of-year questionnaires for parents or guardians and teachers. With the parent/guardian questionnaire, I recommend asking about changes in student attitudes toward reading, school, self-esteem, and reading pleasure or interest in books. Ask teachers about changes in student reading, writing, study skills, attitude, and self-esteem. Give both parents or guardians and teachers the opportunity to share stories or anecdotes about the child; you may find some rich comments there."

New Assessment Tool Go to the LEARNS Web site, to review the LEARNS Literacy Assessment Profile (LLAP), a system for student assessment and program evaluation. This tool provides tutors with an identification of discrete literacy skills, a means to observe and assess progress over time, and a system of reporting and analyzing the data.

When tutors participate in assessment, they better understand students' skills and can customize activities for individual students. Renee recommends that tutors document session activities and student progress in a journal. Tutor observations track student progress and help teachers and tutors pinpoint potential areas of difficulty.

Self-assessments by students and tutors flesh out the picture of program impact. Students need to know about their progress, and self-assessments spur them to think about their own learning. David offers these questions for learner self-assessment: "How helpful was it for you to have a tutor? What can you do now that you couldn't do before? Are you reading better? How do you know? How do you feel about reading? Is this different from before? If the child is not able to write her own responses, the tutor can transcribe the child's answers for her. Through learner self-assessments, you will surely gain quotes and anecdotes to help tell your program's story." (Editors: And tutor self-assessments can provide important information on tutor satisfaction and partner relations.)