USING DATA AND ANALYSES TO ASSESS NASA EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND GUIDE PROGRAMMATIC DECISION-MAKING

摘要

Evaluation and accountability are important for all education programs. The NASA Office of Education is committed to providing quality education products, materials, and experiences to its participants. To increase the rigor, utility, and impacts resulting from its projects, NASA Education is implementing a comprehensive suite of processes for evaluation, assessment, and evidence-based information for all of its strategic outcomes. The first step in the process was to establish a comprehensive portfolio of education investments that can be categorized by type, objectives achieved, and audiences reached. This structure allows for critical analysis of programs for needs, gaps, duplication of effort, and alignment of spending to prioritized objectives. This approach is actively being implemented across NASA. For example, a gap analysis of the Elementary and Secondary Education program indicated a need for a bridge between high school to undergraduate study, and the Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience (INSPIRE) project is now in early implementation. To assess performance of this and other programs and projects, additional evaluations are required. These include internal assessments as well as externally mandated analyses. The Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART) is a US Office of Management and Budget tool by which performance is measured through a system of established baseline and aggressive targets towards meeting goals. Similarly, benchmarking activities will compare progress towards goals against similar activities at other federal agencies, and highlight opportunities for program improvement. Early planning phases for the INSPIRE project were guided by benchmark assessments of shortages of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Results of the benchmark study informed the goals, activities, and implementation approaches from earliest phases of the project so that desired outcomes from the effort will be met. Other Office of Education assessment activities, including establishing routine reviews, will provide both quantitative and qualitative data to be used in ensuring project alignment and contribution to strategic outcomes. The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program is currently in its 4th 5-year performance review, and twenty-three other projects are scheduled for independent external reviews through a new evaluation initiative. A major external review of the NASA Elementary and Secondary Education Program has recently been conducted and recommendations from this report are influencing both project redesign and new programmatic strategies. Newly initiated projects will continue to incorporate formative and summative assessments, but will also reflect approaches and techniques supported by authentic, data-driven education research; strategies that were reinforced in the recent program review. To support the enhanced emphasis on quantitative evaluation, a new performance measurement database will facilitate data collection from NASA education project managers, in-the field implementers, and end users. Standardized surveys and data collection devices will allow direct mapping of results and data to PART measures and other reports necessary for project assessment. By analyzing these data, NASA Office of Education can make programmatic decisions that best serve the needs of its varied audiences, be confident that activities are meeting their objectives, and ensure that education funds are used in the most effective manner.