Monitoring, Review and Evaluation
Monitoring, review and evaluation are evidence-gathering processes and powerful tools for improvement. Used together they support improvements in quality and help to ensure that further developments flow from evidence-based judgements and reasoned arguments.
- Monitoring activities (e.g. tracking attendance, participation, curriculum coverage, assessment, retention and progression) answer the question, ‘did it happen?’ and show whether things are going smoothly.
- Review activities (e.g. meetings, partnership agreement negotiations, feedback sheets) answer the question, ‘what went well?’ They draw attention to successes, raise alarms when things need changing and highlight new and often unforeseen opportunities for development.
- Evaluation activities (e.g. focus groups, surveys, questionnaires) answer the question, ‘was it worth it?’ They generate information on impact and value and provide evidence on which to base judgements about the quality of provision and practice and its strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement.
To get the most from these activities, local consortia and their partners should ensure that the following are in place.
advance planning – check that monitoring, review and evaluation arrangements routinely feature in curriculum planning activities, IAG developments (including partnership agreement negotiations) and associated improvement and development plans. This helps to ensure that the information and evidence gathered are relevant, reliable and of good quality. Lack of advance planning requires retrospective action that relies on people’s memories. It introduces an element of chance into the evidence-gathering process that undermines the reliability, quality and value of the outcomes.
detailed planning – make sure that any plans for monitoring, review and evaluation activities cover:
- purpose – clarify the reasons for gathering evidence including how it will be used (e.g. in routine reports, to assess the impact of new arrangements or to make a case for change)
- co-ordination – clarify who will lead and manage monitoring, review and evaluation activities and who will analyse and communicate their outcomes
- participation – ensure that all key stakeholders (e.g. young people, parents, carers, colleagues, external IAG providers and other partners) have an opportunity to provide evidence and/or feedback using sampling techniques if appropriate
- method – review the evidence that routine systems provide, identify any gaps and specify how additional evidence requirements will be met (e.g. how to gather evidence on the impact of new or modified arrangements, or the contribution to and impact of careers education activities on young people’s ability to make good use of IAG)
- timing and location – clarify where and when evidence gathering will take place.
a shared understanding of the reasons for monitoring, review and evaluation – check that people understand why they are involved and how the outcomes will help them and the young people they work with.
efficient recording systems – check that current systems support systematic recording to minimise the need to draw on alternative information sources such as memory.
efficient storage systems – check that storage systems ensure that evidence is not lost or mislaid between the point of collection and the point of use.
Questions to ask yourself
- Do existing organisational and/or local consortium arrangements support the effective use of monitoring, review and evaluation processes?
- Do current approaches to monitoring, review and evaluation generate evidence-based judgements, reasoned arguments and continuous improvement?
- How could existing arrangements be improved and who could help?
