Overarching Components
Conduct a Formative Evaluation
Conducting a formative evaluation is kind of like keeping track of your vital signs during the running of a marathon. Much like a runner whose pulse is beating too fast would adjust the pace or breathing, so too would a training administrator monitor preliminary data from the program and feedback from participants to see if there are any early signs of problems in implementation or general design. If any problems come to light - such as feedback that the material covered is too much or too little, that it is not relevant to the work, or that the scheduling is not conducive to the target population's workday - the administrator can make changes necessary to improve the effectiveness of the program.
One good way to take the "pulse" of a program is to interview or survey participants, employers, instructors, and staff at several key points in the program to determine what is working and what is not. An important part of this strategy is including interviews with people who drop out of the program to find out why they are leaving and what might be done to prevent others from doing the same. Conversely, it is important to follow up with people who have completed the program along with their employers to determine whether the education and training had value and how it might be improved.
Those "soft data" approaches can be supplemented by a close look at "hard data" such as participant retention and completion, skills gains, job placement rates and wage levels and so on, comparing the performance of a program over time (Henle et al, 2005).