CPE Utilization-Focused Evaluation & Decision Making Flashcards

Summative evaluation is primarily used to:

Answer: Make judgments about a program's overall effectiveness or worth for accountability and decisions about continuation

Summative evaluation assesses a completed or mature program's effectiveness, efficiency, and value, often informing decisions about funding, continuation, or replication.

A CPE is asked to assess whether a program should be replicated in other states. This is an example of a:

Answer: Summative evaluation question focused on scalability and effectiveness

Questions about replication require summative evidence of effectiveness and contextual factors that support or limit scale-up.

Which of the following is a key decision-support role of a CPE during program reviews?

Answer: Providing evidence-based findings and recommendations while respecting decision-makers' authority

A CPE informs decisions with evidence and recommendations but does not make final funding or programmatic decisions, which remain the authority of agency leadership.

When findings from an evaluation are NOT used, a CPE should FIRST examine:

Answer: Whether the evaluation questions and design were aligned with the actual information needs of decision-makers

Non-use most commonly results from a misalignment between the evaluation's focus and what decision-makers actually needed, pointing to an upstream design problem.

In utilization-focused evaluation, an 'evaluation matrix' is used to:

Answer: Organize evaluation questions, indicators, data sources, and methods in a single planning document

An evaluation matrix aligns key questions with measurable indicators, data sources, and collection methods, ensuring the evaluation design is coherent and comprehensive.

Which type of evaluation question asks 'Is this program reaching the people it is intended to serve?'

Answer: Coverage or reach question

Coverage or reach questions assess whether the program is accessing and serving its target population as intended.