Program Evaluation

Guidelines for Appropriate Curriculum Content and Assessment in Programs Serving Children Ages 3 Through 8 (National Association for the Education of Young Children & National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education, 1990) includes guidelines for evaluation of programs for young children. Programs should be evaluated regularly to determine the extent to which they are meeting goals and objectives and providing benefits to the participating children and families. Data from evaluation should be used to strengthen and improve the program.

The guidelines also state that:

• "Performance data of children collected by teachers to plan instruction are summarized and quantified by teachers and administrators to use in evaluating how well the program is meeting its goals for children and families.

• The program uses multiple indicators of progress in all developmental domains to evaluate the effect of the program on children's development and learning. Group-administered, standardized, multiple-choice achievement tests are prohibited before third grade, preferably before fourth grade (see Kamii, 1990).

• All components of the program are evaluated to judge program effectiveness. . . .

• Programs that are mandated to use a standardized test of children's progress for program evaluation or accountability purposes employ a sampling method whenever feasible." (p. 16)

References