Process Evaluation in Even Start | Back to Program Evaluation

Process evaluation provides information about whether a project was implemented as designed. Process evaluation also provides project management with timely feedback about the implementation procedures of the project allowing changes, or mid-course corrections, during implementation rather than waiting for an end-of-project analysis.

As it applies to Even Start,process evaluation provides information to Even Start Coordinators, fiscal agent representatives and project staff and community partners about the factors that influence the success of the project. The process evaluation examines the inner workings of the Even Start project, such as services that the program provides, how the services are delivered, who receives the services, and the extent of the delivery and interventions received by participants. The process evaluation helps identify, during implementation, any defects in the design or potential sources of failure of a project and provide project management with timely feedback about implementation procedures to allow for “mid-course corrections.”

The Even Start process evaluation addresses the implementation of each program element through such evaluation activities as observation of classroom activities, including home visits; interviews with program staff, Even Start participants and community partners; and review of activities and documentation pertinent to the accomplishment of each program element, such as attendance records, baseline and progress assessment scores, advisory committee meetings and minutes and/or participant portfolios.