CDT Assessment & Evaluation Strategies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of a needs assessment conducted before a diversity training program?
- To justify the trainer's fee
- To identify gaps between current and desired DEI competencies (Correct answer)
- To satisfy legal reporting requirements
- To rank employees by diversity awareness
Correct answer: To identify gaps between current and desired DEI competencies
A needs assessment pinpoints the specific knowledge, skill, or attitude gaps the training should address.
Question 2: Which statistical measure helps a trainer determine whether observed post-training improvement is due to the program rather than chance?
- Mean score
- Mode
- Statistical significance (p-value) (Correct answer)
- Frequency distribution
Correct answer: Statistical significance (p-value)
A p-value indicates the probability that results occurred by chance, helping confirm training impact.
Question 3: A CDT program uses 360-degree feedback as an evaluation tool. Who typically provides input in this method?
- Only direct supervisors
- Peers, subordinates, supervisors, and the employee themselves (Correct answer)
- External diversity consultants only
- HR business partners only
Correct answer: Peers, subordinates, supervisors, and the employee themselves
360-degree feedback aggregates perspectives from multiple stakeholders across the organizational hierarchy.
Question 4: When comparing diversity training outcomes across departments, a trainer should control for which variable to ensure fair comparison?
- Trainer's race
- Department size and pre-existing diversity climate (Correct answer)
- Physical office location
- Training room temperature
Correct answer: Department size and pre-existing diversity climate
Differences in department size and baseline inclusion culture can confound outcome comparisons if not controlled.
Question 5: An organization wants to assess psychological safety as an outcome of diversity training. Which tool is most appropriate?
- Attendance tracking spreadsheet
- Validated psychological safety scale (e.g., Edmondson's) (Correct answer)
- Financial audit report
- LinkedIn engagement metrics
Correct answer: Validated psychological safety scale (e.g., Edmondson's)
Validated scales with established reliability and validity are the gold standard for measuring psychological constructs.
Question 6: What does a control group add to a diversity training evaluation design?
- It provides additional training participants
- It allows comparison to rule out alternative explanations for change (Correct answer)
- It reduces survey administration costs
- It satisfies EEOC reporting mandates
Correct answer: It allows comparison to rule out alternative explanations for change
A control group (untrained) provides a baseline comparison that isolates the effect of training from other factors.
Question 7: Which evaluation strategy is most aligned with an equity-centered approach to assessing diversity training?
- Reporting only aggregate average scores
- Disaggregating data by demographic group to identify differential outcomes (Correct answer)
- Focusing solely on leadership satisfaction
- Using the same benchmark for all industries
Correct answer: Disaggregating data by demographic group to identify differential outcomes
Disaggregating data reveals whether training benefits are equitably distributed across different employee groups.
CDT Assessment & Evaluation Strategies 3
What is the primary purpose of a needs assessment conducted before a diversity training program?