X. Evaluation Tools & Measures
F. Using Tests and Assessments
Tests and assessments can be useful tools in evaluation. In context evaluation, this method can allow you to gain information about the needs of the target population. In outcome evaluation, it can indicate changes in health status or behavior resulting from project activities. However, most of these measures require expertise and specialized training to properly design, administer, and analyze.
Knowledge or achievement tests can be used to measure participants' knowledge or behavior. Through testing before and after educational programs, you can assess what the participants need to learn and then measure what they have actually learned. Be aware, however, that a person's knowledge does not prove that the person is using that knowledge in everyday life.
Another type of knowledge or achievement testing is done through observation, as when a staff member observes a mother interacting with her child to determine whether there has been progress in mastery of parenting skills. Or, a home visit could include observation of improvement in an elderly person's mobility or of specific skills Learned by the caretaker. If they are to be useful as project outcome measures, these observations should be documented so that they can be compared across cases or across time. (See earlier section entitled Observation, page 73.) Standardized indexes are available for coding observations.
Participant self-reports, including standardized psychological and attitudinal assessments, can also be used to measure need and assess outcomes. You may develop your own instruments to determine, for example, client satisfaction with existing health services or reactions to services offered by your project. Standardized questionnaires developed by health researchers on such topics as patient satisfaction, general health (including items on physical, emotional, and social function), mental health and depression, and disability status can also be used. There are advantages to using a questionnnaire that has already been developed and field-tested. However, bear in mind that standardized assessments may not adequately reflect the important and unique aspects of your project or the situation of your target population.
Physiological health status measures can be used to reveal priority health needs, or indicate the extent of particular health problems in a target population or community. Examples of these measures are broad-based screening such as cholesterol or blood-pressure readings, and physiological assessment data collected by community organizations or hospitals. For example, a large number of low birth weight babies reported by local hospitals may lead you to provide educational programs on prenatal care for prospective mothers.
Physiological assessments can also be used to measure the outcomes of a project. An increase in the birth weights of infants born to mothers in your prenatal care program is an indicator that the project may be answering an identified need. Statistical tests for significance can be applied to this kind of data to further confirm the positive effects of you project.
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