DRAFT of the Evaluation Assignment (group)

DRAFT of the Evaluation Assignment Student’s Name Institution of Affiliation Course Instructor Date Executive Summary This evaluation study focuses on testing the efficiency of a basketball training and tutoring project managed by a community-based organization meant for troubled youths in an inner city area. The program is focused on enhancing participants' performance, conduct, and social competence by insisting on participants scoring no less than a C+ grade in school so as to partake in basketball activities. Since the program was started, its first grant has been almost exhausted, hence the need to establish its effectiveness in a bid to have it funded again. The study will compare academic improvement by analyzing GPA records and behavioral changes through incident reports, self-made surveys, and interviews concerning the participant's social skills. The research question guiding the study is: To what extent can it be influential in determining whether enrolment in the program will enhance academic performance, behavior, and social skills among troubled inner-city youths? A mixed-method study will be used to assess the program's effectiveness in order to get a broader perspective on the program's results. The protection of human subjects will be as per the guidelines of the Institutional Review Board (IRB). In case of any requirement, the personal information and identity of participants will be kept secret during the study. The study will determine whether the goals of the program were met and what can be done to enhance the program in the future. The findings will thus be helpful in establishing the extent of the benefit of the program and building a compelling argument for sustained funding. Research Question To what extent does enrolment in the program enhance academic performance, behavior, and social skills among troubled inner-city youths? Type of Evaluation Study The type of evaluation that will be proposed in the study is the outcome evaluation, which is driven toward identifying the impacts of the basketball training and tutoring program for troubled inner-city youths academically, socially, and behavior-wise. This means that the type of evaluation that will be done in order to meet the evaluation criteria is the outcome evaluation because it will seek to know whether the program has met its planned objectives and goals and to what degree the participants have been affected. This means that the outcome evaluation will focus on determining how much of a difference academic tutoring and basketball training, which are the components of this program, can make to the student's academic performance and other skills. In this case, by targeting the program outcome rather than output indicators and impacts, this study will help to determine whether a difference has been made and why some results emerged over others. This approach will allow both for the amount of change as well as for the quality of the change to be calculated; in essence, it will be possible to determine which parts of the program have been most helpful in changing from a quantitative and a qualitative standpoint. Lastly, the outcome evaluation will serve the purpose of substantiating further adjustments to the program, as well as making scientifically grounded decisions regarding future changes and funding from grantmakers. Evaluation Focus The study will focus on three critical areas of evaluation: academic achievements, behavior modification, and interpersonal skills. It is, therefore, an educational program whose aim is to see that those who participate in basketball activities have stayed above the C+ grade average. The incremental improvement in student performance will be assessed to determine if it affects academic improvement since the students are tutored and kept in a structured setting. Behavior changes are thus core to the program because its focus is to assist troubled young people. The study will focus on the decrease in negative behaviors such as truancy, aggression, and delinquency, whereby incident reports on schools and community centers before and after joining the program will be compared. As an added emphasis as a criterion of assessment, the study will assess whether the participants acquire enhanced interpersonal skills within the aspects of teamwork and coordination, verbal and written communication, management, and negotiation skills. All these interpersonal skills are essential for the participants to have a successful and fulfilling life as well as careers. Measurements To assess the effectiveness of the program, the following measurement tools will be utilized: The sources of data include students' report cards, teacher's reports, and a survey of the ...