Purpose Of Program Evaluation

Purpose Of Program Evaluation

Purpose of Program Evaluation
“A program is a set of specific activities designed for an intended purpose, with quantifiable goals and objectives. Program evaluation examines programs to determine their worth and to make recommendations for programmatic refinement and success. Conducting program evaluation is for decision-making purpose” (Spaulding, 2008, p. 5). Evaluation is the methodical procedure of gathering data that help identify the strengths and weaknesses of a program or project (Boulmetis & Dutwin, 2005, p. 3-4). Evaluation, both quantitative and qualitative, means measuring and collecting data against some standard (Boulmetis & Dutwin, 2005, PREFACE IX). The purpose of this paper is to describe the purpose of program evaluation and why it can be useful to an organization, describe two formative program evaluation models, two summative program evaluation models, and one additional program evaluation model that is particularly useful.
Purpose of program evaluation and its usefulness to an organization
Evaluation examines a project or program objectives and examines if those objectives have been accomplished, reviews the value of an ongoing program, determines the worthwhileness of a new program or project (Boulmetis & Dutwin, 2005, p. 3). The rationale of program evaluation is to establish if the program is efficient in utilizing resources sensibly to do the necessary work effectively by using objectives set or performance measures, and whether it is put into operation as stated. The effectiveness and efficiency of a program can help aid in planning, fix accountability problems, and make decisions. It can furthermore improve program operation, help reallocate resources, and help monitor the program. “In order to understand the importance, knowledge of the components of the program evaluation is required” (Lindeman, n.d., Importance).
Both formative and summative evaluations are needed in the development of a service or product, helping to develop and...