become savvy evaluation consumers H u m a n i t i e s
Types of Evaluations
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is for students to establish working knowledge of various types of evaluations utilized in social work settings and to recognize how evaluations are happening in their own agency settings.
Instructions
Using information from the assigned readings, post your responses to the following:
Briefly discuss the difference between case level and program level evaluations;
Briefly describe the difference between summative and formative evaluations;
Identify and briefly define the 4 types of formative program level evaluations; and
Describe how you saw or experienced evaluations conducted in your last field placement – or how they could have been done. Reflect on how your experience was similar to, or different from, what other students experienced.
Initial Post Prompt:
Your original, substantive post should be 300-350 words.
Response Prompt:
You must also post a 100-200 word response to at least one peer. In this post, respond as if you were dialoguing in response to their initial post. Your response should add a new perspective, share new information or pose a critical thinking question. Your response should not be a simple “I agree with you” or “I found that interesting”. Be sure to reflect on how your experience with evaluations in your last field placement compared to that of your peer(s).
Prior to submitting your posts, check them for appropriate grammar, spelling, and formatting. Your discussion posts must include at least 2 professional references to receive full credit. Professional references can include the textbook(s), assigned readings and resources, as well as appropriate government, organizational, or professional publications, reports and websites.
Required Readings
Textbook Readings:
Grinnell, R., Gabor, P., & Unruh, Y. (2019). Program evaluation for social workers: Foundations of evidence-based programs (8th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Chapters 1-4, 10, 13
W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (2017). The step-by-step guide to evaluation: How to become savvy evaluation consumers.
Chapters 2-3, 6
Resources
Case level and program level evaluations are different, but similar. Case level evaluations are used for individual client systems and are created to provide services that help us to learn about how to serve our clients in a way that is unique to each one (Grinnell, Gabor, & Unrau, 2019). Program evaluation level purpose is to evaluate the overall program to provide feedback for making changes to programs that serve all the clients within in the program (Posavac, 2016).
The summative evaluation approach is considered the first approach in the program level evaluation. It is used when a program has been in use for many years. It is externally driven and is conducted by someone that is not an employee of the agency. Social workers often find this approach to be intrusive and provide less feedback than with the formative approach (Grinnell, Gabor, & Unrau, 2019). The formative approach uses client-centered data. It is part of the social work program and is not an additional part of the program within the agency. When social workers are involved with this approach, they have an increased knowledge of the program, provide relevant feedback, provide self-protection and have a higher level of practitioner and client satisfaction (Grinnell, Gabor, & Unrau, 2019).
The four different types of formative program evaluations are; needs assessment, process evaluations, outcome evaluations and cost-efficiency evaluation. The needs assessment is used to find out what the nature of the problem is and to find a relevant solution. The process evaluation focuses on the client service delivery. The outcome evaluation determines the change the client experienced during the time they received services and the cost-efficiency evaluation helps to determine what the cost can be for providing services to clients (Gabor, Grinnell & Unrau, 2013).
I did not experience any type of evaluations during my last field placement and I was the only student at this placement, so I did not have anyone else to compare experiences with. Evaluations could have been in a formative approach if they had been given. The collection of information could help the agency to improve or make changes with the feedback provided. With a better understanding of each program provided, clients could receive more effective treatment and have better outcomes (Grinnell, Gabor, & Unrau, 2019).
References
Gabor, P., Grinnell, R. M., & Unrau, Y. A. (2013). Program Evaluation. Encyclopedia of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013…
Grinnell, R. M., Gabor, P., Unrau, Y. A. (2019). Program evaluation for social workers: Foundations of evidence-based programs. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Posavac, E. J. (2016). Program evaluation: methods and case studies. Routledge.
