Assignment Three

           A READ to SUCCEED PROGAM at one school

Who should be involved? 

Students, Classroom Teachers, Read to Succeed Teachers, Parents, Administrators, Superintendents, Resource Room Teachers, English as an Additional Language Teachers, and Literacy Teachers.

How might they be engaged?

By collecting observations, feedback, opinions, data and through conversation, each of the stakeholders can provide reflection and the success or failure of the Read to Succeed goals.

           Focus the Evaluation

What are you going to evaluate?  Describe program (logic model).

The program I have chosen to evaluate is the Saskatoon Public School Divisions’ Read to Succeed Program.  The goals of the program are to improve student reading performance and instill confidence and competency so that children may work well independently in a regular classroom.  Progress is also gained by gains made in Grade Level Equivalency (GLE).

What is the purpose of the evaluation?

The purpose of the program is to evaluate whether the program is reaching it’s goals and to what extent. 

Who will use the evaluation? How will they use it?

Who/users	How will they use the information?
Read to Succeed Teachers	Teachers working directly with students, eg. Read to Succeed teachers, Resource teachers and classroom teachers will be able to evaluate whether or not they are reaching their goals.  Literacy teachers and consultants will be able to measure the gains made and the areas which require modification.
Literacy Teachers
Literacy Consultants
School Administrators	The principal and vice principal in the school will be able to measure the effectiveness of the program in order to improve the Continuous Improvement Framework set out by the Ministry and Division which is to create higher literacy rates among students.

What questions will the evaluation seek to answer?

Are the goals of the Read to Succeed Program clear and understood by all the stakeholders?  If not, what clarifications or additions are needed? What would each of the stakeholders proclaim the value or effectiveness of the program to be?  What extra training, resources, information or support do the stakeholders require in order for the goals to be attained?

What information do you need to answer the questions?

What I wish to know	Indicators – How will I know it?
The knowledge of the program of stakeholders.	Survey and interview.
The procedures and implementation steps of the program.	Interview and observation.
What is working well with the program?	Interview and Testimonials from stakeholders.
What is not working well or not being utilized and why?	Interview and survey.
What modifications could be applied to the program?	Survey and interview.
What information, training, supports and resources would make the program more successful?	Survey and interview.

When is the evaluation needed?

The results of the evaluation should be attainable by the end of April, so that they can be shared with the stakeholders and suggested modificationschanges in the final school report.

What evaluation design will you use?

The evaluation design used will be Provus’s Discrepancy Model which is designed to:  improving the existing Read to Succeed Program, address the greater accountability of educators to the public and make wiser decisions by administrators (and consultants) about the implementation and effect of the program. 

           Collect the information

 

What sources of information will you use?

Existing Information: Read to Succeed and Resource Room teachers’ evaluations and feedback on the program.  AFL and CAT/4 test scores as well as daily work gathered from the teachers.

People: Read to Succeed, Resource Room and Classroom teachers.

Pictorial Records and Observations: Observations obtained through learning walks and teachers opinions of student confidence and competence will be collected. 

What data collection method(s) will you use?

X	Survey	X	Document review
X	Interview	X	Testimonials
X	Observation		Expert panel
	Group techniques		Simulated problems or situations
	Case study		Journal, log, diary
X	Tests		Unobtrusive measures
	Photos, videos		Other (list)

Instrumentation: What is needed to record the information?

A survey must be created, as well as a set of interview questions seeking information about the goals and purpose of the program and it’s effectiveness.  A checklist for observation, based on a review of the Read to Succeed documents.  A gathering of student samples and assessments (recent and from the beginning of the program) to compare and ask teachers to comment on.

When will you collect data for each method you’ve chosen?

Method	Before program	During program	Immediately after	Later
Survey		X
Interview		X
Observation		X
Tests	X			X
Document Review		X
Testimonials		X

Will a sample be used? 

No	X
Yes		If yes, describe the procedure you will use.

Pilot testing: when, where, how? 

Pilot testing will occur before the evaluation begins specifically by looking at the survey questions, interview questions and tests collected by a groups of stakeholders.

           Analyze and Interpret

 

The surveys, interview questions and observations will be gathered and sorted so that they can be summarized and compared to the review of the Read to Succeed program review.  The testing of Grade Level Equivalency will be done prior to and after the evaluation. 

How will the data be analyzed?

Data Analysis: the survey questions, interview information and observation questions will be sorted and studied for similar attributes.

Methods: Common ideas, criticisms and suggestions will be grouped together, as well as measurement of growth (GLE).

Who is Responsible? The evaluators will be responsible for sorting the information. 

How will the information be interpreted—by whom?

The information will be categorized and analyzed, then shared with stakeholders to be analyzed again and interpreted by those directly involved in the day to day implementation of the program as well as by the administrators and literacy consultants downtown for suggestions and improvements. 

What did you learn? What are the limitations?

The stakeholders will meet to discuss the results and whether or not gains have been made.  They will discuss what implications might have occurred and what led to the successes or goals not met.  The stakeholders will develop a list of modifications or changes which could be implemented so that goals are attained.  The limitations might be the attitudes and opinions of the stakeholders with regard to the barriers which might exist in student success in the program Eg. Student absences, or transiency. Another limiting factor might be the resources suggested to improve the program.

 

           Use the Information

How will the evaluation be communicated and shared?

To whom	When/where/how to present
Teachers	A summarization of the findings will be presented to the teachers.
	A meeting or in-service would gather the stakeholders together to make suggestions and ofer improvements.
Administrators	Administrators would be included in the summarization presentation and the in-service.
Parents	A short report on the findings and the suggestions for improvement would be shared with parents (letter or email).

Next steps?

The stakeholders and evaluators would gather to design a timeline and actions related to the outcomes, the suggestions and the changes needed for improvement.  Administrators would then share the information with their superintendents.

           Manage the evaluation                      Standards

X	Human subject’s protection	X	Utility
X	Management chart	X	Feasibility
X	Timeline	X	Propriety
X	Responsibilities	X	Accuracy
X	Budget