The first component, a technical assistance project, deals with strengthening the accountability plans of the participating community schools as well as developing their capacity to use evaluation to improve their operations and instruction. The second component evaluates the participating schools and addresses a variety of research questions related to the community schools as well as the impact they are having on local public schools and their local communities. Since the charter school initiative is relatively new in Ohio, the project incorporates elements of both formative and summative evaluation. The purpose of formative evaluation is to provide information to improve the charter schools by assessing ongoing activities and to learn from problems in the establishment and development of the schools. Formative evaluation should be conducted continuously throughout the duration of a school s existence.
Summative evaluation focuses on the impact or outcomes of a program.