How can the power of analysis be used to measure student learning in a particular example or case study?
Case Study
In the Case Study Analysis section, the power of analysis is applied to a real case study of an evaluation of an after-school program.
Objectives of the Case Study
The objectives of the evaluation are to measure the effectiveness of an after-school program that improves the skills and knowledge of participating middle school students.
Goals of the Case Study
The evaluation plan has three goals:1) to provide analysis of assessment data to support continuous program improvement toward a quality program, 2) to meet all evaluation requirements for the 21st Century Annual Performance Report, and 3) to provide evidence of an effective arts education after-school program that will be disseminated throughout networks of arts organizations.
Federal Grant for the Case Study
A federally-funded grant supports the creation of after-school community learning centers for students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools and their families. By providing tutoring, arts, and other academic enrichment activities along with a broad array of youth development opportunities that complement their regular academic programs, these centers help students meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects, such as English language arts and math. In addition, literacy and other educational services are offered to families of students participating in the program.
Data Collection for the Case Study
The evaluation will employ rigorous evaluation methodologies, quantitative, and qualitative data measurement of state-collected student achievement scores, visitations, observations, and formative and summative surveys.
Quantitative Data from the Case Study
The quantitative data are drawn from two places: 1) four surveys: students, families, teachers, and observations of the teachers and 2) state-collected data of student achievement that are reported back to the after-school program. The survey instruments were administered in June of 2009 in the final month of the program’s first year (2008-2009), and the state data were collected in the middle of the school year.
Qualitative Data from the Case Study
The qualitative data are drawn from evaluator observations, qualitative comments from teacher surveys and teacher conversations, and student work documented over the course of the first year (2008-2009). These include qualitative data from teachers gathered through the New York State Afterschool Network (NYSAN) Program Assessment Tool administered in June of 2009, periodic NYSAN observations, and sample student work from the Futures Class (October and November, 2008; May, 2009).
TCG TEAM Phase 2 After-School Program Logic Model (PDF)