Measuring success: Evaluating educational programs

This paper reveals a new evaluation model, which enables educational program and project managers to evaluate their programs with a simple and easy to understand approach. The “index of success model” is comprised of five parameters that enable to focus on and evaluate both the implementation and results of an educational program. The integration of these parameters forms a complete and comprehensive picture, which in turn provides the most information on the success or failure of the program. The parameters are: (1) the relevance index, referring to an evaluation of predefined objectives; (2) the efficiency index, referring to the fiscal efficiency of the program; (3) the effectiveness index evaluating the attainment of the program’s objectives; (4) the impact index gauging the effect on the consumers, for whom the program is undertaken; and (5) the final parameter is the program’s sustainability index. Since Israel’s education strategy currently leans towards site-based monitoring and evaluation, such a model can potentially be of great help to school management and staff.