Evaluating Gifted Education Services: A Critical Best Practice

By Dr. Susan Corwith, CTD Associate Director

In education, there is a lot of talk about outcomes, continuous improvement, and evaluation. Yet too often programs, specifically gifted education programs, are not rigorously evaluated. As a result, many schools and districts do not know if their programs are effective. Center for Talent Development works closely with schools to conduct program evaluations, and 40 years of research, practice, and collaboration with colleagues has taught us several things about good evaluation.

Why is evaluating gifted programs important? You can probably identify several reasons, but here are three worth highlighting, especially in a climate where resources are scarce, and accountability is a priority:

• If a program or service is not working, we need to know.
• If a program or service is working, it is worth being able to defend with evidence.
• If a program or service is working, it is worth understanding why, how to make it better, and how to expand or scale it.

What does effective evaluation look like? The NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards provide a framework from which to work in Standard 5. For example, evidence-based practice 5.8.2 reads “Educators create and implement evaluation plans that are purposeful and evaluate how student-level outcomes are influenced by fidelity of implementation in the following components of gifted education programming: (a) identification, (b) curriculum, (c) instructional programming and services, (d) ongoing assessment of student learning, (e) counseling and guidance programs, (f) teacher qualifications and professional learning, (g)parent/guardian and community involvement, (h) programming resources, (i) programming design, management, and delivery, and (j) school equity efforts for underrepresented students.” (NAGC, 2019)

If you are thinking about a program evaluation, start by reviewing the standards. And as you consider which component or components of your programming will be the focus of your review, familiarize yourself with the following best practices.

Practice 1: Establish a clear evaluation purpose and a plan for implementation. What are you trying to learn and why? Identify one or two goals and areas of focus that are aligned to priorities in your school system. Then determine how you are going to achieve your goal and on what timeline. 

Practice 2: Commit adequate resources to the evaluation. You will need someone to lead the project and enough personnel to complete all the tasks required. Financial resources may be needed to pay staff for additional time or to contract for outside expertise or an objective perspective from a third party. Those involved in the evaluation will need adequate time to implement the process from start to finish.

Practice 3: Focus on outcomes. The purpose of the evaluation should be connected to priorities within the school system and to student learning. Define what effectiveness means, the measures of success, and expectations over time (benchmarks).

Practice 4: Collect objective data and multiple data points. Gathering perspectives and experiences is valuable but measuring the impact of programming on student learning requires valid, reliable data from multiple sources.

Practice 5: Center evidence-based practices. Read the research and become knowledgeable about relevant standards. Use research and evidence-based practices as benchmarks and guides for assessing your own programming. Make use of experts in the field.

Practice 6: Use a transparent, interactive process. Effective evaluation is done with the input and awareness of all stakeholder groups. Evaluation teams should represent the diversity of the community and use a variety of methods to encourage engagement in the process. Communicate regularly and share findings openly along with priorities for action.

Program evaluation is not easy, but when done well it is immensely valuable. It is necessary for the long-term success of programs and to assure that students receive the best possible services that nurture their talents fully. And in an age of accountability, evaluation assures that we are using resources wisely.

If your school or district is planning a program review or would like more information about CTD’s school services, please contact us at ctd-school-services@northwestern.edu. If you would like to learn more about program evaluation and how it works, join Dr. Corwith for one of her sessions at an upcoming conference. Dr. Corwith will be presenting on program evaluation at the following conferences in the fall of 2022: Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted, Illinois Association for Gifted Children, and the National Association for Gifted Children. 

Reference: National Association for Gifted Children. (2019). NAGC Pre-k-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/national-standards-gifted-and-talented-education/pre-k-grade-12