Evaluate Plan & Its Results The effectiveness of the plan in bringing about the desired vision should be evaluated. If the plan did not bring about the desired effects, an analysis should be made to improve the plan for next year.
Evaluate Plan & Its Results The effectiveness of the plan in bringing about the desired vision should be evaluated. If the plan did not bring about the desired effects, an analysis should be made to improve the plan for next year.
The evaluation should show whether you did what you wanted to do as
well as report any unexpected or serendipitous results. The evaluation must
always be connected to purpose. As with all stages of planning, the
"what do you want to do?" question is most important here. In addition to
determining if goals have been reached, it is important to ask if it mattered if
they were reached. Ambiguous goals like "we want all students to have
experience with computers" will be difficult to meaningfully measure. Students
can be counted who have had experience with computers, but does that really
matter? Questions arise like "what comprises experience," and "is just having
experience a significant enough justification for the dollars spent?"
The evaluation of technology often gets muddled because there was no clear purpose in implementing the technology in the first place. The effectiveness of a laser disk purchased for a ninth grade science class should not be measured by proficiency scores.
The evaluations will be easy to write if the method of evaluation was considered
when the action steps / objectives were written.
Some schools buy computers for labs, give each student an average of 20 minutes a week of hands-on experience and then wonder why the computers did not have much of an impact on learning. This kind of evaluation is like determining the value of one square meal a week on a student's nutritional profile. "Critical mass" should be considered when making evaluations of technology.
Your evaluation is a tool that provides data. The evaluation alone does not pronounce judgment. The data should be used in conjunction with observation and knowledge of the district. Every attempt should be made to avoid the impression of a vote. Often, evaluations are seen as the basis for continuation or elimination of the project. The evaluation is viewed as the end result instead of being viewed as part of the process. The purpose of the evaluation is to make the plan better. It is an instrument of constant improvement.
The evaluation data should be used during the next round of planning to make adjustments. The evaluation acts as a barometer which measures experience with technology. As experience grows, the evaluation will indicate what factors are bringing you closer to your goals and what factors are barriers to the achievement of the goals. Evaluation must be viewed as a constructive, not destructive, process.
Evaluate the Plan
Effective plans must be reviewed on an annual basis. Technology is changing so fast that it is difficult to predict what technology will be available in three to five years. Don't purchase technology today that you are not going to use for two years. In two years, the same technology will be better and cheaper. View evaluation as a constructive, not destructive process. Use your evaluation to make your plan better. Avoid evaluating ambiguous goals like "we want students to use technology." You can count students who have used technology but. . . did it matter?
Advice:
Your plan should describe how your goals will be evaluated and how the evaluation information will be used.
Questions:
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