Rubrics in Evaluation: Beyond Counting Heads
In my consulting work I’m constantly trying to keep things simple, clear and focused on the best results. With that in mind, I’ve been thinking about how to refine the process of program evaluation and assessment down to its essence.
The most useful evaluations get right to the point: is the organization having the impact it set out to achieve? Is the organization making the changes in people’s lives and in the community that are laid out in its mission statement? And if not, why?
The first step in conducting a useful evaluation is for an organization to understand and articulate the impact it is trying to have. What exactly would success for that organization look like? This should be found in the organization’s Case Statement. Once the impacts are articulated, I’ve found rubrics, similar to the kinds teachers use, to be very helpful. Take each area of impact, and decide what different levels of success would look like.
For example, an impact outcome for an after school program might be to ensure that children are given healthy food as an afternoon snack to keep up their energy and build healthy bodies. A rubric for this outcome might look like this:
"A" – Youth are receiving varied organic food, and they rate it highly in terms of taste; the children and parents are learning first hand about a healthy diet and organic food providers, and are beginning to incorporate these healthy foods in their meals at home.
"B" – Youth are receiving healthy food, and for the most part, rate it good in terms of taste; parents and guardians are receiving educational materials about these healthy foods.
"C" – Youth are receiving mostly healthy foods, and rate it average to good in terms of taste.
"D" – Youth are receiving snacks, and for the most part rate it average or below.
"F" – Youth are receiving unhealthy snacks, not all are eating available food.
In this example, I’ve set the bar high – an “A” would signify a very high level of success. I hope you can see the many ways such a rubric would be helpful! In addition to providing very clear criteria for evaluation, a well-written rubric can help guide program design, inspire staff, and even serve as a source of information for fundraising and publicity materials.
There are several ways to make up a good rubric. Often, common sense is a good tool. Another source for good rubrics is to look at other successful programs, or to read about best practices in books and research papers.
Finally, searching under "rubrics" online will lead you to a wealth of educational rubric information.
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