WVA SIG Evaluation Project

  • Cooledge, Jocelyn (PI)

Grants and Contracts Details

Description

The West Virginia Department of Education Office of Special Education (WVDE OSE) received a State Improvement Grant (SIG) from the U.S. Office of Special Education (OSEP) in the summer of2004. One of the requirements of the SIG funding was to evaluate the goals and objectives of the grant. In order to receive evaluation feedback, provide training and technical assistance on evaluation, and support stakeholders, the WVDE OSE issued a request for quotation (RFQ #EDD226071) for an evaluation subcontractor for the SIG. The Interdisciplinary Human Development (IHDI) Evaluation Unit at the University of Kentucky is responding to this request by proposing to provide ongoing, third party evaluation support to the WV SIG Management Team and provide timely reporting to all constituents, including the WVDE OSE and OSEP. At the end of the three-year funding period, IHDI's evaluation will have measured the growth in professional development for WV educators in the areas of both reading and mathematics, and the extent to which that professional development impacted the academic achievement of students. The SIG will be evaluated on four levels: process-, progress-, outcomes-, and goals-based evaluation, using both fonnative and summative approaches. The evaluation approach is designed to ensure continuous infonnation for data-based decision making and ensure accountability. Throughout the subcontract, the Evaluation Unit staff will: 1) review the major aspects of the project; 2) track the contextual factors related to the objectives; 3) elaborate further on the evaluation questions and make any necessary additions or modifications to the proposed questions; 4) specify evaluation methodology including locating or creating instruments to measure objectives and the goals; 5) collect data and analyze findings; and 6) generate and deliver reports to stakeholders, and help those stakeholders interpret and use information to modify projects activities as needed. The evaluation plan will incorporate unobtrusive measures and extant qualitative and quantitative data to the greatest extent possible. As part of the proposed evaluation plan, local education agency (LEA) staff and participating WV Institutes for Higher Education (IHEs) will receive training and technical assistance (TA) in the areas of data collection, analysis, and evaluation. This training and TA will build capacity among educators to increase the likelihood that the evaluation activities continue beyond the funding period. In order to implement the evaluation plan and provide this training and TA, the IHDI Director of Evaluation will serve as the evaluation Principal Investigator (PI) and primary evaluator on the project. This staff member will also serve as an ex-officio member of the SIG Management Team and represent the IHDI Evaluation Unit at all SIG meetings and functions.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date3/1/062/29/08

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