Evaluation is about finding information for growth and change. It is a teaching and learning instrument in itself. Over time, incorporating the results of evaluation can help a program run more smoothly and maximize the benefits for its participants. During student feedback sessions they learned that many participants had after school activities, such as jobs or sports, that conflicted with rehearsals. As a result, the company devised a way to schedule around these conflicts at the beginning of each residency.
Evaluation takes planning, time and coordination.
Identifying the reason to conduct an evaluation before beginning a program can ensure that results are useful and specific. The next step is to structure the evaluation. The information needed will determine what evaluation methods are used, what questions are asked and how they are asked. The Mozart School and Myer developed a simple checklist to measure the content and skills students acquired through researching and role-playing interviews with historical characters. Criteria included whether the students presented basic information on the character's life, describing the character's contribution to history and whether students expressed themselves in complete sentences and maintained good eye contact and volume.