citi grant teacher training-fin ed evaluation-assessment tools-o'neill-06-11
TRANSCRIPT
Measuring Financial Education Success: Evaluation Methods and
Assessment Tools
Barbara O’Neill, Ph.D, CFP®, CRPC®Professor II, Rutgers University
Are You Evaluating Your Financial Education Programs?
If You Are, How?
The Million Dollar “So What?” Question…
At the end of the day…did your financial education program make a difference?
How do you know?
The Current State of Financial Education Program Evaluation
• Current evaluation efforts are still far from satisfactory
• General lack of evaluation capacity
• Evaluation is often treated as an after-thought
• Outcomes (e.g., measures of changed behavior) are often confused with program outputs (e.g., number of participants)
• What gets measured gets funded
• With evaluation results, you can
– assess impact of programs on learners
– see if you accomplished what you planned
– know if a program was “worth it”
– celebrate success and learn from failure
– make informed decisions to improve, hold, or fold programs
– promote your program and win public support
We are in an “Accountability Era”
• See http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html• Begins with the end in mind• Explains what a program is and what it will accomplish• Shows relationships between inputs, outputs, and outcomes
Introducing the Logic Model
HUNGRY
Feel betterFeel betterGet foodGet food Eat food Eat food
Everyday Situation
Building a Strong Financial Education Program
INPUTS OUTPUTS OUTCOMES
Program investments
Activities Participation Short Medium
What We
Invest
What We Do
Who We Reach
What Results
SO WHAT??
What is the VALUE?
Long- term
Staff
Money
Time
Volunteers
Partners
Equipment/Technology
Policies
Research
INPUTS
OUTPUTSWhat We Do Who We Reach
ACTIVITIESAssess needs and assets
Design curriculum
Educate students
Conduct workshops
Facilitate learning groups
Sponsor conferences
Work with the media
Partner – collaborate
PARTICIPATIONParticipants
Clients
Customers
Users
Groups
Reactions - Satisfaction
OUTCOMESWhat Results for Individuals, Organizations, Communities..…
SHORTLearning
Awareness
Knowledge
Attitudes
Skills
Opinion
Aspirations
Motivation
MEDIUMAction
Behavior
Practice
Decisions
Policies
Social action
LONG-TERMConditions
Human
Economic
Civic
Environment
OUTCOMES
Commonly Measured Items That Are Not Outcomes
• Participant satisfaction
• Number of people taught
• Units of education completed
• Number of events held
• Time and money spent
• Level of effort
Impact Evaluation Data Collection Methods
• Surveys
– Post-evaluation only (short programs)
– Pre- and post-evaluation
– Follow-up (e.g., 3 months later)
• Focus groups
• Interviews
• Observations
• Tests of knowledge/ability
• RARE: Control groups and longitudinal studies
Typical Survey Questions
• General reactions to the program
• Changes in knowledge
• Changes in motivation, confidence, and abilities
• Intended changes in behavior
• Actual changes in behavior
• Future programming needs and preferences
• Demographics
• Qualitative/open-ended responses
Post-Then-Pre Evaluation Surveys• Also known as a “Retrospective Pre-Test”• Helps identify changes in knowledge, attitudes, and
behavior
Another Post-Then-Pre Example
Big Advantage: Avoids the problem of learners under- estimating what they don’t know before a program
Downloadable Evaluation Manual
Build Your Own Evaluations Online
One Last Step: Share Your Program Evaluation Results
WHAT?
SO WHAT?
NOW WHAT?
Tips for “Telling Your Story”
• Use simple descriptive statistics (e.g., counts, percentages, and averages)
• Don’t use jargon
• Don’t overstate your results (e.g., causality)
• Blend quantitative and qualitative data
• Clearly describe who the results represent (i.e., demographic characteristics of participants)
• Be honest about your program’s strengths and weaknesses, while highlighting the positive
Impact Statements: Intentions
As a result of participating in this financial education program, X% of participants reported that they…
• plan to do/use/adopt…• are more knowledgeable about…• are more confident in their ability to…• are more likely than before to do/use/adopt…• will do/use/adopt…
…a particular attitude, piece of information, or behavior.
Impact Statements: Actions
As a result of participating in this financial education program, X% of participants reported that they…
• are now doing…• did…• used…• increased their knowledge of…• adopted…• changed…
… a particular attitude, piece of information, or behavior.
Questions and Comments?
Barbara O'Neill, Ph.D., CFP®, CRPC
Extension Specialist in Financial Resource Management and Professor II Rutgers University
Phone: 732-932-9155 Extension 250
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: http://njaes.rutgers.edu/money2000/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/moneytalk1