What is the purpose of education program evaluation?
The basic purpose of program evaluation research is to test (1) whether education programs help the students they are designed to serve and (2) whether new ideas for education programs, still under development, are worthy of extension to a wider selection of schools and settings. The term “program” refers to a specific set of education practices or interventions that are thought to have an impact on a given set of education outcomes. For example, imagine that a new math program appears to show promise in improving students’ math skills. But before teachers, school administrators, and education policymakers make that program a permanent part of the curriculum, they will want to know whether the program actually helps students learn mathematics better than the usual program. To answer this question, a local school district, a state Department of Education, or the U.S. Department of Education may commission a study to evaluate the new program. This effort would involve setting up the prog
