Fidelity of Implementation in a School-Based Arts Implementation Project

• In Event: Program Evaluation Methods: Implementation and Impact Measurements

Abstract

Fidelity of implementation (FOI) refers to the level of adherence that a project keeps to its design. The evaluation of this project, a school-based arts implementation project, used a “fidelity to structure” design to determine how well the schools in the project followed the project design in the fourth and fifth years of the project in thirteen public schools. Among other outcomes, more schools remained constant or increased their FOI percentages (69%, or N=9) than decreased, showing that over time, more schools than not were finding ways to adapt to the project design over time. The outcomes, both within and across years, provided the project team with evaluative feedback, allowing them to modify project implementation to fit schools’ needs.

Authors

• Nicole L Lorenzetti, The City University of New York

• Susanne DeFalco Harnett, Metis Associates, Inc.