You will find that EVALUATION falls in stages 6 and 7.

You've almost completed your on-line Linking Agent training. Once you’ve gotten this far, you’ll probably be interested to know how well your programs are working. EMSTAC has put a significant amount of thought and experience into developing approaches for evaluation that should be useful to you.

Why We Evaluate?
The most effective Linking Agents are those who consistently review and improve their services based on careful evaluation of their work. Evaluation procedures provide an ongoing feedback mechanism to the Linking Agent so that these improvements can be achieved.

Careful evaluations also ensure the integrity of the program, and enable Linking Agents to advise others so that they can replicate their success. Unfortunately, programs that have been successful in one setting are not always successful in another. There are many reasons why this might occur, including user receptivity, consultant skills, school climate, and the degree of match between program goals and the goals of a particular school or teacher. Effective interventions can also fail in new settings because the replicating agent decides not to implement certain components.

Evaluation also allows us to determine whether our goals have been met, and to amend our strategies for the future. It's important to remember this throughout the planning and implementation phases of our work. As goals and objectives are defined, careful attention should be paid to how they can be measured and evaluated. Goals that are impossible to measure, or those that place unreasonable burden on those collecting data should be re-conceptualized to align more feasibly with evaluation activities.

Evaluation activities can be non-intrusive. There are various ways to collect data within a school district. While some, such as assessment of individual students, can be time consuming, other approaches such as observations and examination of student/school records require little time away from planned activities.

Each of the districts working with EMSTAC is responsible for assisting in the development and implementation of an evaluation plan. This activity is important to EMSTAC and school districts because it provides important information regarding the effectiveness of technical assistance activities. Based on this feedback, Linking Agents can either change their approach so that their activities are more responsive to the school district's needs, or they can continue with their current approaches. Evaluation results are critical to EMSTAC as we attempt to determine the most effective way to design and deliver technical assistance.