NW Report September-October 2000 Evaluating Reform Efforts Helps Schools Make Decisions

A new Laboratory publication provides step-by-step guidance to help schools plan, design, and carry out effective evaluation of their comprehensive school reform programs. Developed jointly by NWREL's Comprehensive Center and the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) unit, Evaluating Whole-School Reform Efforts: A Guide for District and School Staff is designed to help schools conduct evaluations that provide valid, useful information for accountability and program improvement.

In schools across the country, comprehensive school reform models are well underway. The federal CSRD program provides incentives to schools-particularly high-poverty, low-performing schools -to implement research-based, whole-school reform efforts. Current Title I legislation also provides incentives to schools with at least 50 percent high-poverty students to pool federal resources and implement schoolwide improvement efforts. Nationwide, more than 1,600 schools are currently participating in the federal CSRD program, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Education. An additional 15,000 Title I schools are implementing schoolwide programs.

"The overarching goals of evaluation are twofold: to inform schools about what is and isn't working, and to guide decisions about program adjustments and improvements, thereby increasing the likelihood of positive impact," write the authors.

How does a school design a comprehensive evaluation plan that meets federal and state requirements and also satisfies its own informational needs? The authors suggest that by addressing certain key questions early in program planning, the evaluation process will reflect the needs, interests, issues, and resources unique to the school. Questions schools should ask include:

What does our school want to accomplish overall?
What will our school have to do to achieve these goals and objectives?
How will our school know that its program is succeeding at accomplishing its goals and objectives?
How will evidence be gathered to demonstrate progress toward our school's goals?
How will our school use evaluation results?

The 130-page guidebook gives an overview of program implementation, program outcome and impact, evaluation design and process, use of data for program improvement, and strengthening programs through evaluation.