Evaluation is a fundamental aspect of program development and implementation, providing valuable insights into the effectiveness and efficiency of interventions. The majority of program evaluation techniques are exploratory and conclusive. Despite having separate responsibilities, they both assist us in assessing the program’s effectiveness and coming up with improvements. This post examines a situation in which formative and summative assessments might be helpful, provides resources to help you understand them better, and offers suggestions for applying them to program evaluation.
Scenario
Just picture a charity launching a reading initiative to assist low-income elementary school students in learning to read. The literacy program includes reading resources, one-on-one tutoring, and reading sessions. The team wants to know how the exercise impacts children’s academic performance in reading and math.
Formative Evaluation
Formative assessments aid in program modification by demonstrating what functions well and poorly in the current iteration. Implementing an early reading program would involve formative review (Walden University, 2021). Asking educators, learners, and program administrators about coaching, reading clubs, and other reading and writing assistance is one approach to learning more. A program can benefit from formative evaluation as it provides real-time data that can be utilized to make choices and modify the curriculum.
Summative Evaluation
A program’s effectiveness is evaluated through summative evaluation after a certain amount of time has passed. A summative evaluation is completed following the literacy instruction. Researchers could look at how engaged kids are, how well they do in school, and how much they can learn (Walden University, 2021). To do this, you might need standardized reading tests, classroom performance data, and polls of students to find out how satisfied they are with the program and how much they value it. A summative review helps figure out how successful and long-lasting the program will be.
Additional Resources on Formative and Summative Evaluation
Formative and Summative evaluation in Education can help teachers and judges understand and use evaluation methods in the classroom in a wide range of ways. This complete book has all the tools, pictures, and case studies that readers need to evaluate how well programs work and how well students learn (Grinnell et al., 2019). By giving teachers tools for both initial and final reviews, this resource helps them make choices that will improve student learning and performance.
By looking at both types of tests, this book looks at the goals and best practices of both developmental and final testing. This website explains the differences between initial and final assessments to help people who make or give tests make better ones (Grinnell et al., 2019). Because it is written in an easy-to-understand way, judges can handle the complicated parts of program evaluation better, which leads to more interesting and useful activities and projects.
The CDC’s ideas in Evaluating Programs and treatments make it possible to do better evaluations of public health programs and treatments. This guide may have all the information program reviewers need to evaluate programs because it focuses on models and processes that are backed up by evidence (Grinnell et al., 2019). Based on data from the CDC, this page shows the best ways for program evaluators to do their jobs. This is good for the health of the group as a whole and for individual health results.
Alternative Viewpoints and Insights
Some people think it would be better to use both initial and final reviews to get a full picture of how well a school is doing. This method of evaluation takes into account the fact that program evaluation needs constant feedback and changes (Sharifi et al., 2023). Firms learn and make better decisions when they use both preliminary and final review methods together (CDC et al.). They will watch how the program works and what it does. Before choosing an evaluation method, you should think about the review’s goals and setting. A mixed-approach method that uses both personal and quantitative data might help us understand how programs work and what effects they have.
In conclusion, a program review is only complete with formative and final tests, which are different ways of figuring out how well or poorly a program works. Elementary school kids in literacy programs would take tests at the beginning and end of the program to see how much they had learned. Organizations may enhance the outcomes for their target audiences by using formative and summative review techniques, which enable them to monitor program performance, make necessary modifications, and more.
References
CDC Healthy Communities Program. (n.d.). Building our understanding: Key concepts of evaluation.Links to an external site. https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dch/programs/healthycommunitiesprogram/tools/pdf/eval_planning.pdf
Grinnell, R. M., Jr., Gabor, P. A., & Unrau, Y. A. (2019). Introduction. In Program evaluation for social workers: Foundations of evidence-based programs (8th ed., pp. 3–22). Oxford University Press.
Grinnell, R. N., Jr., Gabor, P. A., & Unrau, Y. A. (2019). Approaches and types of evaluations. In Program evaluation for social workers: Foundations of evidence-based programs (8th ed., pp. 23–38). Oxford University Press.
Walden University, LLC. (2021). What is program evaluation? [Video]. Walden University Blackboard. https://waldenu.instructure.com
Sharifi, F., Sepehri, M., & Shafiee, S. (2023). Examining Online Dynamic Assessment and Use of Cognitive Reading Comprehension Strategies among Iranian Male and Female ESP Students: Students’ Attitudes in Focus. Computer-Assisted Language Learning Electronic Journal, 24(2).
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