Reporting findings and making recommendations

A brief written report is a valuable record of the evaluation and its findings. Key points from the report should also be shared with the students, parents and staff who were involved in the program.

A report might consist of:

• the questions asked in the evaluation or the stated outcomes of the program being evaluated
• a description of how the evaluation was conducted
• a summary of the data that was collected
• any recommendations for change.

You could prepare an holistic report or use your chosen evaluation questions to give your report a structure. Each generalisation about the program must be able to be defended using evidence you have collected.

Identify areas for improvement and suggest ways that this can be achieved. Here are examples of some questions you could ask:

• What are the major areas of agreement in the evaluation?
• What are the main differences in people’s perceptions of the program?
• What can be done differently so that there is less discrepancy between planned outcomes and observed outcomes?
• What aspects of the program have potential for development or change? What changes are suggested and what improvement could be achieved?
• What is the priority order for your recommendations?
  
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