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Describes
interpretations and
conclusions that have
been drawn from the data.
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This section of the report should be thorough and
fair in noting, in a balanced and unbiased way, the
project's anticipated and unanticipated strengths
(e.g., smooth implementation, positive outcomes) and
weaknesses (e.g., obstacles to implementation,
evidence of negative outcomes), so that the strengths
can be built on and problem areas addressed. When
relevant data are inaccessible because of time and
cost constraints, the resultant omissions should be
noted and the effect of such omissions on the overall
judgment of the project's impacts and effectiveness
should be estimated.
If the project has been implemented in multiple
settings, and each setting was a locus of data
collection, the evaluation should compare and contrast
findings across the sites in order to find
results
that are generalizable to the project as a whole. Some
lessons learned about the project may also be
generalizable to other projects, and should be
identified in the report. When legitimate,
generalizable statements about program effectiveness
can contribute to theory development by providing
positive examples for analysis and replication.
The
conclusions section should report the findings
with more broad-based statements that relate back to
the project's
goals and the evaluation questions. To
view the significance of the project's impacts from a
sufficiently wide perspective, the impacts can be
examined in light of the alternatives (such as no
other project, or a different type of project, to meet
the need).
In posing conclusions, the evaluators should be open
and candid about the values and perspectives they have
brought to the task so that readers of the evaluation
will be able to understand the context in which their
judgments are rendered.
The conclusions can contribute to the furthering of
professional excellence in the evaluation community by
relating the outcomes of the evaluation to approaches
and practices espoused by other evaluators.
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A11 Impartial Reporting
Reporting procedures should guard against distortion
caused by personal feelings and biases of any party to
the evaluation, so that evaluation reports fairly
reflect the evaluation findings.
P5 Complete and Fair Assessment
The evaluation should be complete and fair in its
examination and recording of strengths and weaknesses
of the program being evaluated, so that strengths
can be built upon and problem areas addressed.
A10 Justified
Conclusions
The
conclusions reached in an evaluation should be
explicitly justified, so that
stakeholders can assess
them.
U4 Values Identification
The perspectives, procedures, and rationale used to
interpret the findings should be carefully described,
so that the bases for value judgments are clear.
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Recommendations involve using the
conclusions to
suggest follow-up actions for the project's
continuation as is, improvement, or elimination.
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When appropriate, recommendations should be included,
either for current
stakeholders or for others
undertaking projects similar in
goals, focus, and
scope which were designed to serve similar
participant
groups in similar contexts. Care must be taken to base
the recommendations solely on robust findings and not
on anecdotal evidence, no matter how persuasive.
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P5 Complete and Fair Assessment
The evaluation should be complete and fair in its
examination and recording of strengths and weaknesses
of the program being evaluated, so that strengths
can be built upon and problem areas addressed.
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Describes steps taken to get
stakeholder feedback on the report. Also,
describes how the report will be used and
disseminated.
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On sharing the report with
stakeholders:
A draft of the report should be reviewed by key
stakeholders so that the findings can be discussed,
lingering issues can be resolved, and the stage can be
set for the next steps to be taken, given the
successes and failures that the
results have revealed.
After the draft of the evaluation report has been
reviewed, all stakeholders and others with legal
rights to the results should receive access to the
final version of the report. The evaluator's judgments
and recommendations need to be perceived as clearly
and frankly presented, backed by descriptions of
information and methods used to obtain them. Such
disclosures are essential if the evaluation is to be
defensible.
The report needs to be written in a responsive style
and format. Different reports may need to be provided
for different
audiences that have different needs and
perspectives (e.g., perhaps a longer, more technical
report for the funder and a shorter report for lay
audiences such as parents of student
participants).
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A11 Impartial Reporting
Reporting procedures should guard against distortion
caused by personal feelings and biases of any party to
the evaluation, so that evaluation reports fairly
reflect the evaluation findings.
U7 Evaluation Impact
Evaluations should be planned, conducted, and reported
in ways that encourage follow-through by
stakeholders,
so that the likelihood that the evaluation will be
used is increased.
U6 Report Timeliness and
Dissemination
Significant interim findings and evaluation reports
should be disseminated to intended users, so that they
can be used in a timely fashion.
P6 Disclosure of Findings
The formal parties to an evaluation should ensure that
the full set of evaluation findings along with
pertinent limitations are made accessible to the
persons affected by the evaluation and to any others
with expressed legal rights to receive the
results.
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