At a glance
- It's important to know if your professional development (PD) is working because it requires time and resources.
- Evaluations assess if PD is achieving its intended purpose.
Benefits of evaluation
Professional development (PD) requires significant time and resources. Program directors or PD providers, school administrators, and stakeholders should know if your PD is working—and why or why not.
Evaluation is a means of learning if your PD activities are achieving their intended purpose. Evaluation results can be used to:
- Demonstrate successful outcomes to stakeholders.
- Get added support for your activities.
- Identify ways to improve implementation.
- Decide which activities to continue or change in the future.
Guide to evaluating professional development
Measuring Implementation to Impact: A Guide to Evaluating Professional Development provides information, resources, and examples to help you:
- Identify and engage key stakeholders.
- Describe your PD activities and goals.
- Identify the indicators you will measure, and define your evaluation objectives and questions.
- Analyze and interpret results to share and to use your findings effectively.