Day 2: Bringing an Evaluator on Board
As a Drug Prevention and School Safety Coordinator, you are responsible for making sure that you have the right people on your evaluation team -- including a professional evaluator. It is best to begin working with an evaluator as soon as possible; the ideal situation is to bring an evaluator on board as a member of your planning team. If you were not able to connect with an evaluator that early in the process, then there is no time like the present!
Internal vs. External Evaluators
Many of you may already be working with an evaluator. Your school or district may have an in-house evaluator or you may have contracted with an external consultant. For those of you who have not yet begun to work with an evaluator (and have the option to make your own selection), here are some things to consider:
| Internal Evaluator | External Evaluator | |
|---|---|---|
| Objectivity | May be perceived as less objective because he or she is closely connected to and invested in the program | May be perceived as more objective because he or she is not directly connected with the program |
| Credibility | May be perceived as having less evaluation expertise, and thus be less credible | May be perceived as more credible, provided he or she takes sufficient time to understand program functioning |
| Skills | Is skilled and knowledgeable about program functioning | Is skilled and knowledgeable about evaluation |
| Usefulness | May be more useful because he or she is more familiar with the program | May be less useful because he or she is less familiar with the program |
| Success | May be more successful in getting support from other program staff | May be less successful in getting support from other program staff |
| Cost | Is less expensive | Is more expensive |
* Please note that some of the information in this table assumes that (1) the internal evaluator is not an evaluation expert, and (2) the external evaluator is working in a traditional, rather than a participatory, manner.
You can increase the likelihood that your evaluation will be successful by working with either a highly skilled internal evaluator or an external evaluator committed to a truly collaborative approach.
Hiring an External Evaluator
If you and your planning team decide to seek an external evaluator, you will need to do the following:
Click here for a checklist of the steps that will help your team stay on track as you search for the right evaluator. Once you have an evaluator on board, he or she will work with you to plan and conduct a successful evaluation of your school's prevention program.
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Discussion Questions Please think about the questions below and share your responses, comments, and/or any questions about today's material in the Discussion Area.
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This completes today's work. Please visit the Discussion Area to share your responses to the discussion questions! |
References for Day 2 materials:
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. How to find and work with an evaluator.
Evaluation Basics PreventionDSS 3.0. Available on-line at: http://www.preventiondss.org/Macro/Csap/dss_portal/
templates/start1.cfm?sect_id=1&page=/macro/csap/
dss_portal/portal_content/eval_intros/eval-nug8-30b.htm&
topic_id=5&link_url=processevalintro.cfm&link_name=Evaluation%20Basics.
Harding, W. (2000). Locating, hiring, and managing an evaluator. Newton, Mass.: Northeast CAPT.
Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center. Hiring and working with an evaluator. Washington, D.C.: author. Avilable on-line at: http://www.jrsa.org/jjec/about/publications/evaluator.pdf.
Rabinowitz, P. Choosing evaluators. Community Tool Box. Available on-line at: http://ctb.lsi.ukans.edu/tools/EN/sub_section_main_1351.htm.
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