edu 571 assignment 4

Program Evaluation Plan (Part 3)

Goals of Evaluation

Evaluation refers to the act of checking various things thoroughly in order to characterize their worth or value, with reference to a certain context. In the field of education, the amount of success in a person’s aims can only be determined through evaluation. Therefore, there is a very close relationship between various aims and evaluation. The main goals of evaluation in schools are as discussed below. The first goal of evaluation in the field of education is to create an educational program ("Evaluation in Teaching and Learning Process | Education", 2020). Through evaluation, evaluators and the school management can build a given program of learning among the students. This is after gathering and checking various factors in order to find what program will fit and make a positive impact in the school. This involves consulting all the stakeholders of the program and developing strategies that will ensure the development of a good program.

The second goal of evaluation is assessing the effectiveness of the program. Evaluation ensures that the developed program is up to standards and serves the purpose that it was intended to. It helps the evaluators to check if the teaching strategies and techniques are being applied properly. The third goal of evaluation is to ensure improvement of the program. Through evaluation, evaluators can gauge the impact of the program on the school and learners. They can also identify various things that can make the program more effective. It acts as an in-built monitor in the program in order to review the progress of the program from time to time. It also gives feedback regarding the design and the implementation of a given program. Through such assessments, the school management can know where to work on, and what they need in order to enhance effective programs in teaching and learning.

For instance, in our case, evaluators can comfortably tell whether or not the program is helping girls become more superior in math. If not they can suggest better or other strategies that will make positive impact.

Cultural Issues Affecting the Program

Culture can influence how different people view things. An individual’s culture and upbringing can affect their way of processing information. Among the cultural issues that might be faced in the evaluation plan include cultural stereotypes. Some students believe that they cannot perform as expected in school or in a particular subject due to lack of preparation from their home environment. This makes them believe they do not have enough potential to do well in a given subject when they get to school. For instance, some students may not have calculators and revision materials for mathematics at home. This makes them poor in calculations and solving complex problems due to poor practice (Gelb, 2020). As a result, some students get to school lacking various basics and lag behind due to deficiencies in their homes. This also makes them to have shortcomings in knowledge and skills that lead to poor performances. However, this can be corrected by using time wisely while in school and utilizing the resources in the school premises properly to improve their skills by doing regular practice.

Another cultural issue is assumption and poor treatment of learners by teachers. Some teachers expect very less from learners from specific cultural backgrounds. When teachers have the mentality of students performing poorly for whatever reason, their teaching approaches align with their low expectation levels. This may affect the program negatively because no matter how much girls try to improve in math, their teachers have already formed a negative perspective. The teachers may not find it important to motivate the students to do well in math because they do not believe they have that potential.

This can be solved by helping teachers and students change mentalities that have been developed and associated with their cultures. Different people have different capabilities and can handle things their own way if properly directed.

Another issue that may affect the evaluation program is cultural differences between students. Some students believe that only people from a certain background can perform better in a certain subject. People from various cultural traditions may have different education approaches that differ from the approaches in American schools ("Current Issues in Education", 2020). It is important for the teachers to note such things and encourage students to work hard in all areas despite their differences in cultural beliefs. Students should not feel inferior because of being associated with various cultures. They should acknowledge they have what it takes and the ability to perform better in all areas. Teachers should understand the cultures of every student, and their students at an individual level. Teachers should treat all students the same despite their gender, racial or cultural backgrounds, and have high expectations for everyone in order to enable them to strive and reach their full potential.

Data Analysis and Assessment

The evaluation plan will be carried out using stratified random sampling. This sampling technique involves diving the study population into meaningful similar groups based on a specific characteristic called strata. Thereafter, a random sample is selected from every group. This type of sampling ensures proper representativeness on a trait of interest in the population. Through this sampling method, a wider range of population can be well studied without a large sample size.

The evaluation plan will use three methods of assessment which are formative, summative and process assessment. We will begin the program with process assessment. Process assessment identifies the milestone of the project, activities to be done, products to be expected, and the costs that are likely to be incurred in order to achieve the goals. Formative assessment is whereby the results are used to form and revise the process of an education plan. In case the plan needs any improvement or ways of strengthening it, formative assessment will help us identify that. Summative assessment helps in documenting outcomes and value judgment. Through summative assessment, we will have the necessary feedback about the quality of the plan. The initiation and implementation of the program will take three to four weeks. Evaluation will begin after three to four months through data collection and proper assessment.

Tasks, Costs Personnel, and Questions Involved in the Plan

Evaluation Timeline

Expected Costs

The expected costs for the project include:

$ 20,000 for data collection

$ 10,000 for data analysis

$ 50,000 for paying evaluators

$ 30, 000 for transport

$ 10,000 miscellaneous

The total cost of the plan will be $ 120, 000.

Cost benefit analysis is a method used in comparing the total costs of a program with its benefits ("Cost Benefit Analysis: An Expert Guide | Smartsheet", 2020). It helps in the calculation of the benefit associated with the program. In this case, we might not be able to account for the benefit in terms of cash because the entire program is based on services. However, there will be cost reduction methods through assistance given by the teachers and the study population. The school will highly benefit from the program by acknowledging the importance of gender equity for girls in Math. They will realize the potential that girls have with regards to Math subject. This will help them improve their performance and start empowering fair competition among the learners.

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