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There are several national associations
that maintain online databases where you can post an
evaluation job announcement. These include:
American Evaluation Association.
An international professional association of evaluators
devoted to the application and exploration of program
evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many
other forms of evaluation. www.eval.org/
JobBank/jobbank.htm
National Council for Measurement
in Education. A professional organization for
individuals involved in assessment, evaluation, testing,
and other aspects of educational measurement. Members
are involved in the construction and use of standardized
tests, new forms of assessment, program design, and
program evaluation. www.ncme.org/careers |
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School districts and community organizations
are required by the U.S. Department of Education and many other
funders to evaluate their prevention programs and activities. But
often it can be difficult to know where to locate an outside evaluator,
what qualities to look for, or how to establish a positive working
relationship.
Dr. Peggy Glider, coordinator of evaluation
and research for campus health services at the University of Arizona,
has served as an evaluator on federal and state grants for the past
18 years. Most of these grants have focused on alcohol, other drugs,
and violence issues. Dr. Glider frequently provides evaluation technical
assistance to universities, school districts, and other groups and
recently spoke to a group of federal grantees on hiring and working
with outside evaluators.
Qualifications to Look For
Before you set out to hire an evaluator or subcontract
with a firm or individual to provide those services, Dr. Glider
advises that you spend some time thinking about your priorities
and the kind of person you will need. She recommends that you consider
the following qualifications:
- Experience with Target Audience and
Issues. Look for someone who has experience with your
target population. If your prevention project targets elementary
students, you need someone who understands how to work with that
age group. Similarly, look for someone who is familiar with alcohol,
drug, and violence prevention issues so that they can develop
survey questions and strategies that are specific enough to generate
the outcomes you need.
- Experience within the Target Environment.
If you are working in a school environment, your evaluator needs
to understand how schools operate and how that environment might
affect an evaluation. For example, because most schools are only
open 9 months out of the year, an evaluator will need to develop
an evaluation plan that takes that schedule, and other school
holidays, into account.
- Experience with Multiple Evaluation
Strategies. Most evaluators have a preferred way of doing
things. A good evaluation has many different components; look
for someone with experience using multiple strategies and a variety
of statistical and analytical procedures and software.
- Availability and Flexibility.
Many quality evaluators are out there, but often the better they
are, the less available they are. Make sure the evaluator has
time to give you what you need. Also look for someone who will
not dictate to you, but who will be flexible enough to see things
from multiple points of view, including yours.
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