Costing testing and evaluation activities

Costing testing and evaluation activities

Introduction

Testing and evaluation consists of activities to monitor program progress and achievement. The purpose of these activities is to determine the effectiveness of the program and whether changes are needed to improve the program.

Every program should include an evaluation component. In smaller and less formal programs, evaluation is often handled informally. If you plan a large program, or if you seek outside funding, you can assume that more formal evaluation will be required. This means you need to budget for evaluation costs.

If you have not yet thought through the subject and process of evaluation,

See:

Evaluating a literacy program

Cost factors
	Here are some cost factors for testing and evaluation of a literacy program:
	Preparation of test instruments Travel to gather data and administer tests Honoraria to consultants and evaluators Costs of evaluating test data (consultant costs) Data processing and document publication

Guidelines

Plan on testing and evaluation from the very beginning of the program. Gathering data for evaluation purposes can be very inexpensive if a good procedure for this task is built into the program.
Be aware that professional evaluators may charge $300 to $1000 a day for their work.
Be prepared to share evaluation results when the program is completed or after a productive mid-term evaluation. A well-done evaluation will be of interest to the professional world.

Things to do
	Here are some things to do when you cost testing and evaluation activities for your literacy program:
	Review your program plan on evaluation including the section on gathering baseline data. If you have not done so already, estimate of the cost of gathering baseline data. Estimate the cost of preparing and testing test instruments or data recording instruments. This cost is usually minimal unless you are doing something which is highly formal or sophisticated. Estimate costs for the travel that will have to be done just for evaluation. If an outside evaluator will be doing the evaluation, you will be expected to pay the cost of the travel of the evaluator as well as a per diem. Estimate the cost of processing the data collected. This will probably consist of paying for some clerical help as well as some data processing costs. If necessary, include a cost factor for sharing evaluation data in the form of a paper at a professional conference.

See also
	Funding a literacy program Preparing a budget for a literacy program Costing a literacy program Evaluating a literacy program

Context for this page:

Task module: Costing testing and evaluation activities
In task module: Determining administrative costs
In task module: Costing a literacy program
In task module: Preparing a budget for a literacy program
In task module: Funding a literacy program, by Stephen L. Walter and Trudy K. Stewart (general editor)
In task module: Identifying resources needed for a literacy progra..., by Stephen L. Walter
In task module: Planning a literacy program, by Stephen L. Walter
In modular book: Plan a literacy program, by Stephen L. Walter, Barbara K. Trudell (contributor), and Trudy K. Stewart (general editor)
In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 18 May 1999