Evaluation
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Where did they come from? Where did they go? SCRIBE’s Enrollment History Report
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When one school year end, we move onto the hustle and bustle of summer and before we know it, a new school year is upon us. Whether intentionally or not, the prior school year is often put behind us, only to be revisited for the APR. However, looking at enrollment […]
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Anonymous and Confidential Surveys: What Exactly is the Difference?
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Surveys are a popular research tool for gathering valuable insights and data from individuals on various topics. The two standard survey methods are anonymous and confidential surveys. While both methods aim to protect respondent privacy, they have differences that can influence data quality, respondent honesty, and overall survey effectiveness. This […]
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Sharing Knowledge and Inspiring Change
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Have you ever wondered why evaluation findings sometimes do not get used in making programmatic decisions? Yes, we all have, and we can produce several reasons. This was the focus of our Data Into Practice presentation at the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP). The NCCEP conference is […]
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The Power of Evaluation Retreats: Maximizing Program Growth
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With student success on the line, GEAR UP grants constantly strive for growth and improvement. Evaluating the grant effectiveness of strategies, processes, and objectives is crucial for obtaining goals for retreat participants. While evaluations are typically done in the office, there’s a growing trend towards evaluation retreats – dedicated blocks […]
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What do Spring, Xcalibur, Data Dashboards, and Your Car’s Check Engine Light Have in Common?
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This week marks the first week of Spring, and the buzz of renewal is in the air. Spring is the official name of the season, but GEAR UP members may call this time of year’ APR season.’ It also indicates a renewal, moving from the close examination of last year’s […]
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Research Symposium Recap from the NCCEP Capacity Building Workshop
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The Prove Team at NCCEP hosted the first Research Symposium during the 2023 Capacity Building Workshop which provided a space to highlight qualitative and quantitative evaluation studies specific to GEAR UP goals, objectives, services, and outcomes. Xcalibur participated in the Research Symposium and presented with GEAR UP Georgia during the […]
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Leaving a Legacy for Grant Work
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Grant work can be exceptionally rewarding because it presents an opportunity to make an impact on communities. In the world of GEAR UP, grants are making an impact on students and their families, by supporting students to graduate high school and prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. Funding […]
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Xcalibur Evaluation Retreats
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As part of Xcalibur’s participatory evaluation approach, Xcalibur staff conduct biannual evaluation retreats with our evaluation clients. The goal is to bring together grant team members to review their grant’s vision, reflect on their work, assess progress, and plan for future work. Retreats eliminate the everyday interruptions of the usual […]
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Over the Mountains and Through the Snow: Hearing Experiences from Different Stakeholders.
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The past few months have been exciting! Xcalibur staff have been traveling and engaging in discussions with high school students, college students, parents, educators, and GEAR UP staff about their GEAR UP experiences. In addition to collecting data for the Annual Performance Report (APR), many GEAR UP grants have accompanying […]
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Participatory Evaluation: Is This What You’ve Been Looking For?
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Among the many questions to ask yourself when designing an evaluation is, what type of an evaluation should we do? One unique and insightful form of evaluation is participatory evaluation. Xcalibur almost exclusively offers participatory evaluation to grants. Why so? We find it provides the highest extent of evaluation impact […]