Program Evaluation Karol's Thoughts

Program Evaluation Review

Karol Kryzanowski-Narfason

The Program and Approach

For the following review I have chosen to look at is a study of five state pre-kindergarten programs. The evaluation was an effectiveness-based evaluation, where the researchers asked the primary question: Do Pre-K programs improve children’s pre-literacy and math learning for kindergarten entry?

The study used a quasi-experimental approach called Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD). The Regression Discontinuity Design model is a model that evaluates the effects of interventions. In this case they are evaluated the effects of the social, emotional and cognitive development of Pre-k children whom have attended a pre-k program versus those whom have not.

The study was conducted because schools and school boards have boasted that pre-K programs foster school readiness. Because of this publicity the enrollments have increased as well as funding very rapidly.

The process used:

Five states of Pre-k classrooms voluntarily were studied. Data was collected by random sampling of students within the volunteered classrooms, and these children were given standardized tests by a trained tester.

The strengths: When evaluating, to identify and be mindful not to repeat gaps of previous evaluations increases the value and the usefulness of current evaluation. This evaluation talks about other evaluations only being from two states this evaluation includes five states, allowing a larger sampling to collect data from.

This evaluation looked at developmental outcomes such as social, emotional and cognitive development. This strength, in my opinion, demonstrated the foreseeable relationship between developmental readiness and learning readiness to give these pre-k children the foot in the door to kindergarten learning.

The approach used in this evaluation is relatively unbiased. One of the reasons is the strict birthday-cut off rules and therefore you are able to test children who age wise are within days of each other but one may have gone through the Pre-K program and the other not.

Could be viewed as a weakness and a strength

The programs studies varied in many ways, duration, funding, and teacher education to name a few. I think that the strong variation in the programs themselves could be argued as both strengths and weaknesses. I have two schools of thought: 1. certain variations in the program do not affect results and 2. Evaluation criteria could have been more specific.

The weaknesses:

The five states that were involved in the evaluation volunteered and therefore this evaluation is not a random sampling.

Money, funding, high-stakes, investment, budgeting, however you would like to say it, governments and policy makers want and need to know that their money is being put to good use. I understand accountability, and I can appreciate transparency of spending and I too would like to see results driven by dollars as dollars are increased. However, I am always cautious and aware of the weakness of any evaluation that could also have the potential to increase funding, or that the evaluation may have been state funded in the first place as to have a political impact.