Theory-Based Evaluation to Distinguish and Integrate Research and Evaluation Functions in Large-Scale Programs

• In Event: Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Current Studies in Program Evaluation to Improve Student Achievement Outcomes

Abstract

Theory-based evaluation (TBE) has been explicated for several decades as an evaluation model to assess how a program will work under certain conditions to solve identified problems and has been supported more recently as a viable, evidence-based option in cases where randomized trials or high-quality quasi-experiments are not feasible. Despite the model’s widely accepted theoretical appeal there are far too few examples of its well-implemented use. In this paper, we will describe the development of a theory-based evaluation design in a Math and Science Partnership (MSP) research project funded by the U. S. National Science Foundation (NSF), present a model for distinguishing and integrating evaluation and research, and discuss the hypothesized connections between constructs in the logic model.

Authors

• Carole G. Basile, University of Missouri St. Louis

• Laura B. Sample McMeeking, Colorado State University