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Evaluate Progress
The Wellness Team should conduct reviews every three
to six months in the first year and annually thereafter, comparing
the original baseline data, plan and implementation priorities
with objective measures and subjective measures of progress. This
information can serve as a source of pride for students and staff
and allows the benefits or savings to continually grow.
Here are some recommended evaluation methods from
the Connecticut
Department of Education, Bureau of Health and Nutrition Services .
Objective Measures
A. Process Evaluation
What does process evaluation do?
- Assesses whether a program was implemented and operated as intended
Why is process evaluation important?
- We often want to know outcomes, but outcomes do not tell us what we did, when we did it, who
was reached, how many people or schools were reached, quality
of the activities, etc. Process evaluation documents these variables, which can be invaluable if the program is replicated, modified, or continued.
Process Evaluation Sample Indicators
- Number of students reached/impacted
- Number of teachers/staff members reached/impacted
- Revenues generated from healthy foods sold at school
- Changes in health and physical education curriculums
- Changes in time spent on physical education and recess
- Changes in before- and after-school physical activity opportunities
- Staffing for services or programs
- Meal participation rates for school breakfast and lunch
- Number/percent of foods that meet nutrition standards
- Number of people reached through education efforts
- Number of activities/meetings/events
- Number of classes/training sessions/workshops conducted
B. Outcome Evaluation
What does outcome evaluation do?
- Assesses the results or impact of a program on the participants,
such as students' health status, absenteeism, dropout rates
- Represents a change that occurs as a result of the program,
such as knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, behavior, skills, risk
or protective behaviors, life condition
Outcome Evaluation Sample Indicators
- Student fitness tests (e.g.,percentage of students passing the
National Physical Best Challenge)
- Student Body Mass Index (BMI)
- Changes in student food choices (e.g., increased consumption
of fruits and vegetables)
- Children's nutrition status (e.g., prevalence of health conditions
such as obesity, tooth decay, iron-deficiency anemia, diabetes)
Subjective Measures
Pre-implementation and post-implementation surveys
or interviews can be used to measure the perceptions of progress
by various school stakeholder groups. Given their high margin of
error, surveys should be supplemented with other methods of gaining
feedback, including:
- Providing an e-mail address or phone number that can accept
and record unsolicited comments (measures can be installed to
protect anonymity for those that desire).
- Conducting “town hall” meetings or assemblies and
after a short update, encouraging questions and comments from
the floor.
- Placing comment books in key places throughout the school; collecting
and collating the data frequently.
- Conducting small "focus groups" periodically with representatives
of all stakeholder groups.
- Encouraging stakeholders to write success stories, describing
the project, and explaining who was involved, what happened, when,
where and how.
Qualitative measures aren't the most significant measure
of success, but they can be compelling as a communication tool to
build support among important constituencies. The importance of
capturing the heart of your stakeholders cannot be over-emphasized.
Providing opportunities for feedback and being seen as acting on the
feedback will help meet that objective.
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Five Ways
