Extra Resources for MSAP Rigorous Evaluation

Conducting an MSAP rigorous evaluation provides a unique opportunity to gauge the impact of your program on student achievement and minority group isolation. There are some extra considerations the evaluation team should think about in setting up a rigorous evaluation. The additional resources provided here and for other practices will help you determine if this type of evaluation is appropriate for your district and, if so, to design and carry out the most rigorous evaluation possible.

Discuss your findings with different stakeholders

• There may be a mismatch between what a district wants and needs for an evaluation report and what the evaluator is required to do. Districts need to discuss for whom and how the report will be tailored, and build that part of the reporting process into budgets and timelines.

Make program and policy changes

• 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.