program evaluation

* What evaluation approaches seems to make the most sense to you? Which one seems to be the furthest thing from what you had considered to be evaluation?

The most evaluation approaches seem to make the most sense to me is the use branch, specifically, Stufflebeams’ CIIP model which incorporates four separate evaluation into one framework to better serve managers and decision makers. CIPP is an acronym for four stages of evaluation: context, input, process, and product. In this model the information that the evaluator collect help make judgment about the program, improve the program, and inform decision about future programing. It is also a framework for guiding evaluations of programs, projects, personnel, products, institutions, and evaluation system ( Stufflebeam, 2003). The context evaluation stage of the CIPP help evaluator to make a clear picture of decision making that related to planning which enable the evaluator to define the objectives and determine the needs of the program. Context evaluation also identifies the political climate that could influence the success of the program ( Mertens &Wilson, 2012). The input evaluation assist the evaluator to determine the best strategies and resources to meet the need. The process evaluation serves the implementing decision which help to address the obstacles that threaten the program success as well as make decision about the procedures. The product evaluation helps the evaluator to identify the strength and weakness of the program. In contrast, the most evaluation approaches seem to be the furthest from what I consider to be evaluation is value branch which focus on determining the value of findings or the making of judgment. This type of approach does not give the evaluator the clear picture of the program. In addition, the evaluator does not have the full responsibility of making decision on data collection , method, and process because the stakeholders make the plan ready for the evaluator to follow it. The findings of this type of approaches will be not accurate and authentic, therefore, the organization will not get the benefit of the evaluation.