CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRAINING - ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION MONOGRAPH

• NCJ Number: 62606
• Author(s): ANON
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 138 pages
• Contract Number(s): J-LEAA-030-76
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: Abt Associates, Inc
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS MONOGRAPH IS DESIGNED FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM MANAGERS AND SUPPORT TRAINERS WHO TRAIN PERSONNEL AND WHO NEED GUIDANCE ON ASSESSING AND IMPROVING THEIR TRAINING.

Abstract

THE MANUAL TEACHES ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF TRAINING PROGRAMS FROM THE VIEWPOINT THAT SUITABLE EVALUATION IS IMPOSSIBLE IF EVALUATORS AND TRAINERS HAVE NO SENSE OF THE SCOPE, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM AND HAVE NOT CAREFULLY COLLECTED AND ANALYZED DATA ACCORDING TO A PLAN. THIS GOAL SETTING PROCESS ENTAILS WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION OF THE TRAINING POLICY AND PRACTICES. A MAJOR CHALLENGE TO EVALUATORS WILL BE TO MOVE BEYOND TRADITIONAL EVALUATION METHODS (SOLICITING TRAINEES' SELF-ASSESSMENTS AT PROGRAM COMPLETION) TO AN INTEGRATED PROCESS AIMED AT IMPROVING TRAINING OF SPECIFIC, TARGETED POPULATIONS THROUGH REVIEW OF ORGANIZATIONAL AND TRAINING DOCUMENTS, INTERVIEWS, OBSERVATION, QUESTIONNAIRES, AND TESTS. THE MANUAL DESCRIBES THE USE OF THESE INSTRUMENTS AS WELL AS THE LOGIC OF EVALUATION--DECIDING WHAT TO EVALUATE, SETTING TRAINING EVALUATION STANDARDS, DEVELOPING THE PLAN OR DESIGN, MANAGING THE EVALUATION EFFORT, AND REPORTING THE FINDINGS. IT THEN GOES ON TO EXPLAIN PROCESS EVALUATION, THE MAIN TASK OF WHICH IS TO ANALYZE THE APPROPRIATENESS AND QUALITY OF TRAINING OBJECTIVES, THE CONTENT AND TECHNIQUES THAT ARE USED, THE MATERIALS AND TRAINING AIDS DEVELOPED, THE EXPERTISE OF THE INSTRUCTORS DELIVERING TRAINING, AND THE RELATIONSHIPS AND INTERDEPENDENCIES OF THOSE COMPONENTS. TRAINING COSTS ALSO ARE ADDRESSED. THE FOLLOWING EVALUATION RESEARCH DESIGNS ARE INVESTIGATED FOR THEIR PRACTICALITY FOR TRAINING PROGRAM EVALUATION: NONEXPERIMENTAL DESIGN; AFTER-ONLY DESIGNS (I.E., POSTTEST); BEFORE-AND-AFTER DESIGNS; QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS SUCH AS TIME SERIES, SUCCESSIVE GROUPS, AND MATCHED CONTROLS; AND TRUE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS IN MEASURING IMPACT ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM ARE DISCUSSED, AS ARE DATA INTERPRETATION METHODS. A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY, A SAMPLE NEEDS ASSESSMENT SURVEY, A LIST OF TRAINING NEEDS FOR COURT PERSONNEL, TRAINING COSTS WORKSHEETS AND MODELS, SAMPLE TRAINING TESTS, AND OTHER AIDS ARE APPENDED.