Make program and policy changes

"Thanks for working on this report. I know just where to put it."

To keep your magnet program evaluation from meeting the fate of the Report-O-Potty (that dusty collection of unread evaluation documents), you need strategies for taking your results to action. Link any interpretations directly to your evidence and use the findings to re-examine your program and inform future planning.

Resources

VIGNETTE Developing More Effective Recruitment (.pdf 114.3 KB)

Learn how one district used their results to persuade district- and school- level personnel to adjust recruitment activities.

VIGNETTE Building a Case for Program Change (.pdf 113.6 KB)

See how one district’s evaluation findings were used to build a case with the board and superintendent to start a new magnet school.

VIGNETTE Accounting for Negative Evaluation Findings (.pdf 111.7 KB)

Use this vignette to think creatively about a process for addressing negative findings, putting them in context, and using them to inform planning.

TOOL Using Findings to Make Informed Decisions (.doc 144 KB)

Reflect on your evaluation findings to refine and rethink your magnet program and policies. Reexamine your logic model and plan for the next round of evaluation.

SAMPLE MATERIAL Planning Dialogues With Community Stakeholders (.pdf 300.3 KB)

Discuss evaluation findings with staff, families, and community partners to update stakeholders and elicit their feedback to inform planning.

TOOL Using Data for Formative and Summative Purposes (.doc 146.5 KB)

Learn about the differences between formative and summative evaluation approaches, and the intended uses, outcomes, and audiences for each.

Extra Resources for MSAP Rigorous Evaluation

Link your interpretation to the data. Consider alternative explanations for documented program outcomes. Do not draw generalizations beyond what your evidence can support.
Most evaluations have both positive and negative findings as well as findings about which the evaluator is less than fully certain. These circumstances need to be discussed fully and honestly, so that audiences can judge the degree of confidence to place in the results.

PITFALL

“ Too often we analyze data but fail to take the next step to put the results in context and draw conclusions. Numbers do not speak for themselves. They need to be interpreted based on careful and fair judgments. ”

—Planning a Program Evaluation, University of Wisconsin-Extension

TIP

Anticipate your critics’ counterarguments and support your findings with analysis of empirical data. Make your point clearly the first time to engage a public audience.

PITFALL

As you consider your data, be cautious of drawing conclusions about any particular school or program based on a single year's results. Three-year trends are more useful for making decisions related to program expansion or improvement.