Evaluation is a collaborative process between the evaluator, key district staff, and program stakeholders. Now, before the evaluation is under way, is the time to plan the communication mechanisms you’ll use to work effectively with an evaluator. Communication is critical not just at the start of the evaluation, but throughout the process.
Resources
VIGNETTE
Building Trust Between Evaluators and School Staff (.pdf 134.2 KB)
Review this district administrator’s account of how school staff may perceive an external evaluation to help you anticipate staff concerns and needs.
TOOL
Checklist: Effective Communication About Data (.doc 74.5 KB)
Clarify expectations about what data will be available to an evaluator, what format they’ll be in, and when, how, and from whom they’ll be collected.
VIGNETTE
Creating Lines of Communication (.pdf 142.2 KB)
Consider how this magnet program director’s experience might help you shape your own district’s communications with an evaluator.
SAMPLE MATERIAL
Communication With School Staff About Magnet Program and Evaluation (.pdf 438.9 KB)
Get ideas for sharing information with your magnet school staff to ensure a common understanding of magnet program goals, activities, and evaluation needs.
Extra Resources for MSAP Rigorous Evaluation
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It is important to establish communication pathways with your evaluator early, preferably before your grant is submitted, so there is alignment between the planned project, desired outcomes, and the evaluation questions and data collection mechanisms.
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Facilitate communications between your MSAP regular evaluators and rigorous evaluators to ensure efforts aren’t duplicated or developed in contradiction to each other. It will be important to clarify the differences in these two types of evaluations as they affect expectations, roles, and responsibilities.
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Informing families, students, and teachers about what’s involved in a rigorous evaluation is essential. Take care to translate any “evaluator-speak” to explain the research design and its purpose.
SAMPLE MATERIAL
Communication With Families About Experimental Design (.pdf 238 KB)
See how specialized communication to families about the use of experimental design can inform, reassure, and enlist families’ support for the evaluation process.
