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Evaluation Resources

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Compendiums, databases, and manuals that list and describe instruments for assessing particular outcome domains related to positive youth development. 

The Character Education Partnership Assessment Index

A searchable database of assessment instruments that measure positive youth development variables including prosocial behavior, academic attitudes and social skills

               http://www.character.org/site/c.gwKUJhNYJrF/b.993291/k.A810/Assessment_Index.htm

This site also offers a list of instruments to assess program quality http://www.character.org/site/c.gwKUJhNYJrF/b.995187/k.8FDC/Program_Quality_Assessment.htm

Project Cornerstone’s Evaluation Tool Kit

  Asset-Based Evaluation Tool Kit developed by an initiative in California 

to support organizations using the Developmental Assets approach of building 

on the strengths of children and youth. 

                http://www.projectcornerstone.org/html/organizations/evaluation_toolkit.htm

CYFERnet's Evaluation section

Includes practical tools to evaluate community-based programs, information on how community programs can be sustained, and assessments of organizational support for work in the areas of children, youth, and families

                http://cyfernet.ces.ncsu.edu/cyfdb/browse_2.php?search=Evaluation

Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s core measures

Compendium of instruments to assess risk and protective factors; measures are proven, tested, and user-friendly

                http://education.umn.edu/CAREI/Reports/SIG/docs/MeasuresWeb.rtf

Public/Private Ventures

P/P V offers a free download on evaluating mentoring programs, Measuring the quality of mentor-youth relationships: A tool for mentoring programs. This is a very helpful resource for demonstrating mentoring outcomes; available at:

www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/130_publication.pdf

State of Connecticut Distributes a manual that was developed with funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice: Assessing outcomes in child and youth programs:  A practical handbook, revised edition (focus on assessing positive youth development outcomes):

http://www.ct.gov/opm/lib/opm/cjppd/cjjjyd/jjydpublications/childyouthoutcomehandbook2005.pdf

The John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities

A free publication called Youth Engaged in Leadership and Learning (Y.E.L.L.): A Handbook for Supporting Community Youth Researchers has just been released in the second edition. It is available at their website:

 www.gardnercenter.stanford.edu/

Innovation Center for Community & Youth Development

A facilitator’s handbook titled Building community:  A tool kit for youth and adults in charting assets and creating change available for purchase from the Innovation Center for Community & Youth Development website:  http://www.theinnovationcenter.org

Institute for Community Research

Two curricula available for purchase:  

Empowering voices:  A participatory action research curriculum for girls

Participatory action research curriculum for empowering youth

Go to their website for more information and an order form:    http://www.incommunityresearch.org/publications/puborderrev6.pdf

Youth in Focus

Offers two resources: (1) a link to What Kids Can Do--Youth IMPACT: Youth-Led Evaluation, and  (2) Youth REP step by step:  An introduction to youth-led research and evaluation available for purchase from Youth In Focus at their website: 

http://www.youthinfocus.net/resources_publications_2.htm  or call 530-758-3688.

Florida Prevention Research Center

A curriculum for training youth to be researchers titled Youth Research Training Manual developed by the Florida Prevention Research Center at the University of South Florida. Available for free from their website:    http://health.usf.edu/nr/rdonlyres/544bc0a8-8995-43c7-8277-1a0e0a5cfe6e/0/youthfocusgrouptraining.pdf

The Collaborative Fund for Youth-Led Social Change

CFYS has two publications about youth-led social change:  The power & possibilities:  Youth-led social change and The new girls’ movement:  New assessment tools for youth programs.  Go to the Ms. Foundation for Women website and click on the publication titles:   http://www.ms.foundation.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=56

The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University

 The Evaluation Center at WMU offers an array of online tools and resources:  http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/

The Evaluators' Institute at George Washington University

 Provides an umbrella under which TEI can thrive and contribute to evaluation practice. This means TEI’s Certificates for Professional Evaluators will be backed by the University and will carry GW’s name, along with TEI’s. See www.EvaluatorsInstitute.com for descriptions of the curricula, identification of the program designers, and comments from reviewers.

ETS Test Link

The Test Collection at ETS is a library of more than 25,000 tests and other measurement devices that makes information on standardized tests and research instruments available to researchers, graduate students, and teachers. Collected from the early 1900s to the present, the Test Collection at ETS is the largest such compilation in the world. See www.*ets*.org/*test*coll/. The tests in this collection were acquired from a ariety of U.S. publishers and individual test authors. Foreign tests are also included in the collection, including some from Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.

Free web-based survey software:

PHP Survey allows a user to develop surveys, publish surveys and collect responses to surveys.  It is free to use but does require someone learn the software.   Go to:

http://www.questionpro.com/php-survey.html