School Improvement - Louisiana Department of Education

Formative and Summative Evaluation
Formative Evaluation
• Occurs during the operation of a strategy or activity
• Provides those responsible for the SIP with ongoing information about whether implementation
is proceeding as planned
• Provides information on whether or not progress is being made on the Action Plan
• Focuses on the conditions for success
• What conditions are necessary for success?
• Have those conditions been met?
• Can the conditions be improved?
• Takes place at multiple times throughout the life of the activity or SIP
• Stays in‐house but is used to make adjustments to the SIP
• Serves as an “early warning” sign in its use for evaluation or benchmarking
• Assesses through input whether the strategy is working as designed.
• Gives feedback
• Collects credible data
• Studies data in relation to identified benchmarks to inform revisions, improvements, or minor
adjustments in the program design.
Summative Evaluation
• Conducted at the completion of implementing a strategy or activity or program
• Provides SIT and school with judgments about the overall merit or worth of the strategy,
activity, or other SIP component
• Describes what was accomplished, what the consequences were, and what the final results
were
• Answers questions, such as
• Should it be continued?
• Should it be continued with modifications?
• Should it be expanded?
• Should it be discontinued?
• Collects credible data upon which to base judgments about the program’s merit and worth
• Provides a summary judgment about the program’s performance and impact
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