RESPOND

write one responses to the two colleagues in one of the following ways:

Provide an alternative suggestion of how program evaluation can be used.

Provide support or an alternative perspective on the elements of program evaluation.

Discussion -

As a State Correctional employee, we often use evaluations to analyze in-service training, policy reviews, programs and services, etc. It may seem as if we are over evaluating; however, this helps to ensure our services are effective. Westat (2010) says the two reasons program evaluation exists, as written for the National Science Foundation, is to "improve a project" and "document what has been achieved" (p. 3). The most consistent with my interest is program improvement.

For instance, we had four different in-service courses with the same course information. An evaluation was passed out to the students at the end of the course to provide their opinion of the course. The comments prompted the instructors to redesign four courses into one. Evaluations are essential tool in Corrections because it allows us to document our achievements, which will result in data to support our reentry programs.

References:

Westat, J. F. (Ed.). (2010). The 2010 user-friendly handbook for project evaluation. Retrieved

from https://www.westat.com/sites/westat.com/files/2010UFHB.pdf