Every substance abuse or violence prevention program sets out to affect some kind of change. Some programs seek to change young people’s knowledge and attitudes about alcohol and other drugs. Others aim to prevent violent behaviors, or to improve healthy decision-making skills. How can you know if a program does what it sets out to do? And, how can you tell what results are achieved as a result of a particular strategy or program?

Evaluation is the systematic collection and analysis of data needed to make decisions. It is the process for gathering the information that lets you know whether you achieved your goal. It tells you what works and what doesn’t. Further, it may give you some insight into why your program worked, or didn’t work, as well as you expected.

Evaluation is an integral part of the No Child Left Behind Act’s focus on proven methods. No Child Left Behind puts emphasis on determining which educational programs and practices have proven to be effective, and uses federal funds to support those that have proven track records of success.

As such, all prevention programs supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) are required to evaluate their activities and services. This includes both programs funded through state and local formula grants, as well as those funded through discretionary grant programs.

But many program directors view evaluation as a hurdle. During a grant application process, it is not unheard of for a program director to call an evaluator the night before an application is due to request a last-minute evaluation plan—one that’s often little more than boilerplate. According to evaluation expert David S. Anderson of George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Public Health, they’re doing their program a disservice.

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