CPS - Program Evaluation

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Program Evaluation

Background on Program Evaluation in Cheaspeake
In 1995, the Chesapeake School Board established seven strategic goals to guide the school division to the year 2000. One of these goals is to "evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency" of school programs and support services. In direct response to this goal, an independent department of program evaluation was established to conduct the full range of evaluations or performance audits within the school division. As such "program evaluation" became a broad term used to describe the evaluation process as it formally operates in the school division. Regardless of the nature of the specific department or function within the school division, the overall purpose of the evaluation process is to conduct "performance audits" to assist members of the school division in the effective discharge of their responsibilities in terms of time , effort, cost, and outcomes. In plain terms, a performance audit answers the questions, can it be done better or cheaper? Is there another way to do it, or should it be done at all?

Annually the Superintendent and School Board determine programs to be evaluated by the Program Evaluation Team. Programs evaluated are typically selected from the instructional programs of the school division. The evaluation team is comprised of five permanent members with extensive instructional, financial, planning, and audit experience: Program Administrator for School Improvement Planning/Internal Audit/Program Evaluation, Assistant in Program Evaluation, Director of the Budget, Chief Internal Auditor, and Supervisor of Student Services. A partner with KPMG LLP serves as an external advisor. The Program Administrator for Program Evaluation reports directly to the Superintendent.

The Assistant in Program Evaluation serves as a full-time evaluator and, as such, coordinates extensive research on behalf of the team. This staff member organizes the work of the Program Evaluation Team including the scheduling of team meetings, conducting interviews with program personnel, analyzing appropriate documents, conducting professional literature reviews, and drafting all reports for team review and editing. The availability of this position as a full-time program evaluator makes high quality, in-depth evaluation of programs possible in the school division. A position committed to full-time evaluation activities is not typical in school divisions and, therefore, makes the program evaluation function in Chesapeake unique.

In addition to the permanent members of the team, administrators of the programs to be evaluated serve as ad hoc members to assist in the development of the evaluation design prior to the commencement of a study.