This section will help you think about evaluation as a tool for guiding ongoing improvement. It will look at the evaluation decisions afterschool and expanded learning programs similar to your program will have to make, and it will help clarify the what, when, how, and who of basic program evaluation. We know, however, that for many program staff members, evaluation can be a little overwhelming and often is seen as someone else’s job—not the job of the people who plan programs and work directly with young people. The truth is that evaluation can be complicated and does require some specialized expertise. In fact, whole books and graduate school programs are dedicated to learning how to do an evaluation properly. At the same time, evaluation provides the most value when it includes a role for all program staff. Our goal in this section is not to cover the universe of topics related to evaluation and make you an expert. Rather, it is to demystify the process, break down the basic steps, and share why it is important for program staff members to get involved in evaluation activities. These sections cover topics like developing evaluation questions, data collection systems, exploring and making sense of your data, and creating a culture of continuous improvement through ongoing data use, reflection, and action planning.
Throughout this Toolkit, we discuss a variety of practices that contribute to the continuous process of improving program quality. Evaluation is a critical component of the continuous improvement cycle because it provides programs with the information they need to answer important questions about their program—information that can be used as a basis for making program improvements. Evaluation is the tool that allows you to answer two crucial questions about your program: (1) What are we doing well? (2) What do we need to change to produce the desired outcomes for our community?