Assignment

Assignment: Program Evaluation: Strengths and Limitations

As a human services administrator, you need to determine which program evaluations are most useful. Much depends on the type of organization and the nature of the services being evaluated. Perhaps you need to know if a program is working efficiently or reaching its intended target community. You might consider using a program evaluation to plan for the future of an organization.

Not all program evaluations are equal. Some identify problems in the organization that require attention, while others may fail to provide useful information. It is important to note strengths and limitations of program evaluations so that you might select the evaluations that are most useful.

For this Assignment, select one of the program evaluations samples from the list provided in this week’s Resources and consider its strengths and limitations. You will create a short presentation (7–10 slides) on the strengths and weaknesses. As a Walden student, you have a Google email account (Gmail) and access to Google tools. You can find the tools when you log into your account. For this presentation, you can use Google Slides or PowerPoint. If you are new to Google Slides, you can find resources in this week’s Learning Resources to get you started.

In a 7- to 10-slide presentation, you should provide:

• A description of the program evaluation you selected.

• A chart with two sides: strengths and limitations, using the subtitles integrity, reliability, validity

• An analysis of the strengths and limitations that aligns with your chart, including why you identified them

• A reference page in APA format with 3–5 resources you used to develop your presentation, including at least two from this week’s resources

  Support your Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list for all resources, including those in the Learning Resources for this course. You should include in your references at least two resources included in this week’s resources and at least one outside scholarly resource.

  By Day 7

  Week 3: Program Evaluation Samples

  Note: You are not expected to read the entire program evaluation you select. Instead, review the summary or conclusions area to gather the information you need for the assignment.

  • Magill, K., Hallberg, K., Hinojosa, T., & Reeves, C. (2010). Evaluation of the implementation of the rural and low-income school program: Final report. Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the ERIC database.

  • Kingsbury, N. (2011). Program evaluation: Experienced agencies follow a similar model for prioritizing research. Report to the subcommittee on oversight of government management, the federal workforce, and the District of Columbia, committee on homeland security and governmental affairs, U.S. Senate. GAO- 11-176. U.S. Government Accountability Office. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the ERIC database.

  • Sanders, J. R., & Nafziger, D. N. (2011). A basis for determining the adequacy of evaluation designs. Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation, 7(15), 44–78. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Directory of Open Access Journals database.

  • Pereira, N., Peters, S. J., & Gentry, M. (2010). My class activities instrument as used in Saturday enrichment program evaluation. Journal of Advanced Academics, 21(4), 568–593. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Academic Search Complete database.

  • Piper, B., & Korda, M. (2011). EGRA plus: Liberia. Program evaluation report. RTI International. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the ERIC database.

  • Gaubert, J. M., Knox, V., Alderson, D. P., Dalton, C., Fletcher, K., & McCormick, M. (2010). The supporting healthy marriage evaluation: Early lessons from the implementation of a relationship and marriage skills program for low-income married couples. MDRC. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the ERIC database.

  • Curry, S. J., Mermelstein, R. J., Sporer, A. K., Emery, S. L., Berbaum, M. L., Campbell, R. T., & ... Warnecke, R. B. (2010). A national evaluation of community-based youth cessation programs: Design and implementation. Evaluation Review, 34(6), 487–512. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Sage Premier 2010 database.